After a whirlwind 2025 that saw them transition from high school stages to national headlines, regional Queenslanders Cardboard Cutouts are back with a defiant bang. Their new single, ‘Cheap Shirt’, is out today, marking a bold and surprisingly poppy evolution for the Toowoomba-bred outfit following the success of their debut album, ‘Politics and Footy Tips’.
While the track is undeniably catchy, its origins are rooted in a far more sobering reality. The song was sparked by a hostile encounter during their regional tour last year. Frontman Eliot Argus recalls:
“We were heckled and called a bunch of slurs on the street. It was something that we hadn’t really experienced before as a unit, and was pretty confronting! We wrote this song as a bit of an F U to that situation and the type of people that are so bold with poor behaviour. It is a song for our people. People who aren’t afraid of being who they want to be and owning themselves for who they are despite outside noise.”
Musically, ‘Cheap Shirt’ retains the intricate musicianship and genre-fluidity that defined their debut, but peels back some of the grit in favour of shimmering, pop-adjacent melodies. Argus’s vocals are as earnest as ever, delivered with a distinctly Australian lilt that feels like a warm handshake to the band’s ever-growing community of fans.
The quartet—comprising Argus, Campbell Patterson, Rohan Parker, and Sebastian Czaran—have spent the last year proving they are much more than their cheeky name suggests. With over 25 shows under their belts in 2025 alone, including support slots for heavy hitters like Phil Jamieson, Vera Blue, and US emo-titans Origami Angel, the band has mastered the art of the "exhilarating live show."
Having already secured the seal of approval from triple j, Unearthed, and various community radio stations, Cardboard Cutouts are rapidly becoming the poster boys for the new wave of Aussie alt-rock. ‘Cheap Shirt’ is more than just a radio-ready hit; it’s a middle finger to intolerance and a celebration of standing tall, even when the "outside noise" gets loud.
Don’t let the hecklers win—grab a listen to ‘Cheap Shirt’ on Spotify now and follow the boys on Facebook and Instagram for more.
