More than a passing trend or one-hit wonder, Utah rockers Cardinal Bloom step up to the plate on their debut and deliver a good ol' fashioned guitar-driven album that just gets better and better with each song.

After their song “She’s Just a Friend” gained some major traction on TikTok, Cardinal Bloom gained a massive following and for good reason. The band is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise congested race of generic indie pop bands making cringy videos. Their debut album, The Only Place I’ve Ever Known shows the band is more than a one hit wonder to be associated with videos of dogs in ghost sheets.

While “She’s Just a Friend” was their breakthrough hit, it isn’t even the standout track on the album. There’s so many brilliant songs on this collection that each track feels more exciting than the one it follows. Though they do set the bar extremely high by beginning the collection with the non-single, “Somewhere to Hide.” It’s like a fresher, more anthemic cut from Coldplay’s A Rush of the Blood to the Head album. It sets the pace with some larger than life dynamics and trading guitar and vocals hooks. Uncommon to the genre, it also features a killer breakdown with a roaring guitar solo from their lead guitarist, Josh Thomas. Moments like this show just how special the record is.

I wouldn’t quite lump them into any one of these categories, but fans of each will be adding them to playlists left and right. Guaranteed.

While the group does make some stylistic jumps, none of it sounds out of place nor without a perfect segue. There’s a fair amount of '80s indie influence here as well. Lots of lush jangles adorn the collection. It’s a fitting flare that feels more forward-minded than retro. The intro to “So Sweet” made me think I was listening to the comeback single from The Cure, and boy, was I excited for what I heard. Good luck topping that one, Robert Smith.

Vocalist Joey St. John delivers the lyrics with a romantic cadence atop melodies hard to forget. My personal favorite was originally, “Waste Your Time,” but for the life of me, I cannot get the chorus of it out of my head.

It would be maddening if it wasn’t so pleasant.

His vocals sound like effortless mastery. Choir boys will be jealous of both the accuracy and the authenticity of his voice. 

Starting as an acoustic ballad and ramping up to a slamming and chaotic outro, the band holds nothing back and shows they aren’t afraid to play dirty. 

Cardinal Bloom is ample proof that guitar music is alive and well.

Far more than a passing trend, I get the feeling we’ll be hearing more and more from the group. What a hell of a debut album. Bravo. While The Only Place I’ve Ever Known was released independently, I can imagine they have labels clawing at the door as we speak. Take a minute to process that. This band — without a label, ghost writers, or major producers — made an album that is outshining artists with all of that.

Finally, if you’re still on the fence about whether to check them out or not, then get ready because I’ve saved the best for last. In addition to all their talent and genre-leading songwriting, they’re all extremely hot. (Though I guess like all the other praise I've heaped upon them, that is still rather subjective, so you'd better just go check them out yourself.)

Be sure to follow Cardinal Bloom on Instagram.