Raw riffs, real stories, and the relentless hustle fuelling Cardboard Cutouts’ breakout moment.
Toowoomba’s beloved alt-rock underdogs Cardboard Cutouts have spent five years sharpening their craft, and now, the wait is nearly over.
Their debut album, Politics and Footy Tips, arrives June 27—a raw, riff-heavy triumph of anxiety, self-acceptance, and perseverance, wrapped in the band’s signature high-energy sound.
In an exclusive interview with Happy Mag, the band opened up about the long road to their first full-length release, the emotional weight behind tracks like Ask Around, and how they channel chaos into catharsis. From songwriting breakthroughs to tour exhaustion, no topic was off limits.
From sweat-drenched hometown sets to sold-out interstate runs, Cardboard Cutouts have built a rep as one of Australia’s most electric live acts—and with a massive 12-date national tour just around the corner, they’re ready to take it even further.
Early singles My Best Friend and Steer have already turned heads, while Ask Around—a breakup anthem four years in the making—sets the emotional tone for the album.
Produced by Harry Verity (It’s Acrylic), Politics and Footy Tips is a career-defining statement that fuses melody with mayhem—and the band walked us through the whole process, from demos to the final mix.
Tickets are on sale now—don’t miss the chance to catch Cardboard Cutouts live and loud.
Politics and Footy Tips is out June 27. Pre-save it here, and check out our full interview with the band below.
HAPPY: Your debut album Politics and Footy Tips is finally dropping on June 27—five years in the making. How does it feel to have this body of work ready to unleash?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: There are so many emotions that come out when we think about this.
Due to the amount of time it’s been in the works for, it’s a weird mix of surreal and anticipated at the exact same time.
Rohan here with my hot take: I personally am stoked with how the songs are being received, but I don’t find it unexpected.
The amount of time and energy and rewrites and rerecordings some of these songs have been given, I’d be shocked if they weren’t the best things we’ve made as a band.
Sebastian’s take – it’s exhilarating. I feel as though I’m living the dream.
Through blood, sweat, and a lot of sacrifices, we’ve come together as a band to create something that has a part of all of us, and we get to share that with anyone who will give us the time.
HAPPY: The new single ‘Ask Around’ is a raw breakup anthem. What was the most challenging part of writing such an emotionally charged track?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: ‘Ask Around’ is the oldest song on the album, and it has changed and grown musically as we have grown as musicians.
It has been in the works for over 4 years at this point. The most challenging part of writing ‘Ask Around’ was getting it to sit right instrumentally.
We went through a few different iterations, including a version with funky guitars, and have had about five different versions of the breakdown.
There’ve been short versions and super long versions with drawn-out outros.
It’s had the most work put into it, and to us, it feels like a launching-point track where we found the sound that we tried to capture on Politics & Footy Tips.
HAPPY: You’ve described the album as a mix of “anxiety, self-acceptance, and perseverance.” How did you balance those heavy themes with the high-energy alt-rock sound you’re known for?
I think it comes down to how we tend to bend the music to fit what the song needs in the moment.
We often have quite broken-down and stripped-back verses that really let Eliot’s strong, intimate, and honest lyrics shine through.
Pushing the choruses and instrumental sections helps to keep the alt-rock energy pumping.
Overall, we’ve been both more musically experimental and lyrically introspective across this album than any of our previous work.
HAPPY: You’re about to embark on your biggest national tour yet—12 dates across QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, and ACT. What do you find the most challenging and the most exciting about this next big adventure?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: Our upcoming tour is definitely our most ambitious run of shows we’ve ever done.
As a band that hadn’t played outside of South East Queensland until our tour supporting our My Best Friend release, we’re all super excited to get back in front of new audiences.
The biggest challenge is definitely the exhaustion that hits once it’s all over and having to go back to our 9–5 routine.
HAPPY: From selling out your first interstate tour to opening for Origami Angel, your live shows have become legendary. What kind of fan reception have you received and what do you hope fans take away from your music?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: We’ve had phenomenal reception on our first tour, playing lots of songs that hadn’t been released. Our biggest comment was “when’s X song coming out?”
But with the whole album coming out, we hope our audience takes away our love for music and each other.
Our songs are supposed to be emotive and introspective, which we wanna share and see that reflected in them as well. We also hope fans take away merch — making music is expensive as hell, and the only reason we can afford to do this and not lose thousands of dollars is the support of our family, friends, and fans.
HAPPY: You’ve shared stages with icons like Phil Jamieson and Vera Blue. What’s the most surreal “pinch-me” moment you’ve had as a band so far?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: Two come to mind. One time Red Bull sent us a free case. That was pretty sick. More recently, when we opened for Origami Angel, we were spoiled with a packed-out room at the Brightside, and even though the audience didn’t know us, they were some of the most rewarding people to perform for and were so welcoming even if they had never heard our music before.
Every time we made a cool moment musically, it was clear they caught what had happened and were fully on board with us.
HAPPY: How does it feel seeing your music resonate with so many new listeners?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: The reception we’ve received from the new singles has been amazing.
We knew when recording the album that it was our best work to date, but to hear this be echoed by friends, fans, and strangers who randomly stumbled across us at gigs or on Spotify has been a truly amazing experience.
Playing these new songs and having crowds across the east coast sing our lyrics back at us was so surreal.
We’re eternally grateful to everyone who’s ever come out to support us live or streamed our songs.
HAPPY: The album title Politics and Footy Tips is such a uniquely Aussie combo. What’s the story behind it?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: The name Politics & Footy Tips comes from a line in the album closer, Better Voice: “Politics, Footy Tips, and Rubbish on TV.”
The line highlights the odd equivalence we often give to completely different things — treating political events, sports predictions, and reality television with equal passion and seriousness.
It’s a subtle nod to how easily the meaningful and the mundane blur in our everyday conversations.
People argue and defend their opinions on all three with the same conviction, which feels like such a distinctly Australian trait — that mix of sincerity, banter, and a touch of absurdity.
HAPPY: You’ve worked with producer Harry Verity for nearly a year on this record. What’s your studio/music making process like in this collaborative environment?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: Working with Harry on the album was one of the easiest experiences.
We’ve all been fans of Harry’s work, particularly with his own band It’s Acrylic, for years, so it was great to get him to work his magic on our songs.
It was a far more relaxed but way more productive environment than we’ve had in prior recording sessions. He was so chill, and really got our best out of us.
HAPPY: After this tour, what’s next for Cardboard Cutouts? World domination?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: We’re all super keen to get back into writing new songs once this tour’s done.
Most of the tracks on Politics & Footy Tips have been bouncing around in different forms for years, and we’ve all grown so much as writers and musicians since we started work on the album.
It’ll be super exciting to get back in the practice room and start working on new material.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS: There’s nothing more special than showing our new songs to our friends and family for the first time.
They’re always the people we trust most to give us honest feedback when we’re in early writing stages, and particularly when we’re at the point of committing songs to record.
It’s always just very special and exciting.
Either that or Indomie Mi Goreng.
