PHOTO CREDIT: STEVE GULLICK
Selected praise for Cardinals:
“The next great guitar band to emerge from Ireland.”
Rolling Stone UK
“Set on writing future classics, the five-piece’s captivating sound traverses both the atmospheric bluster of Echo and the Bunnymen and the scratchy indie of Yo La Tengo.”
NME
“Impressively confident, swaggering indie-rock.”
Stereogum
“It looks like another music giant could be about to step out of Ireland.”
DIY
“Reminiscent of ‘Fables…’ era R.E.M. in places, it adds some folksy elements – the slight swing in the rhythm, the accordion notes – to the mixture. Open and organic, Cardinals seem confident enough to let their music breathe. A sign, perhaps, of the precocity of their live shows, or the naivety of youth.”
CLASH
“Cork’s genre-defying Cardinals channel their city’s idiosyncrasies into a dizzying artistic revolution.”
DORK
Today Cork’s acclaimed Cardinals share a new single, the biting and politically-charged “The Burning of Cork”.
Frontman Euan Manning had to say the following about the latest release from their record:
“The song takes its name from the act of terror inflicted upon Cork City by the British Army’s Black and Tan forces in December 1920. It’s the record at its heaviest and most menacing.”
“The Burning of Cork”, which lands alongside a highly charged music video from the director Greg Purcell, is the second song to be taken from their much-anticipated debut album “Masquerade”. Set to land February 13th on tastemaker label So Young Records, the ten song collection was recorded with producer Shrink at RAK Studios, London across the summer. It’s a record that is at once grand and intimate, awash with romance and flickers of holy imagery, and most of all, it’s an undeniable fulfilment of the innate promise the band have shown since their earliest beginnings.
These are emotionally expansive songs, some simmering with an undercurrent of violence, cynicism or fervent discontent (Anhedonia, The Burning of Cork, Barbed Wire) and others gleaming with a bright-eyed vulnerability. A vivid first half contrasts a darker second and crafts a record with a clear A-side and B-side. A nod to the band’s collective love of vinyl, that tonal shift takes its cue from a variety of expected and unexpected influences – from the brittle honesty of folk to the theatrical melodrama of goth-rock.
A band forged through both family and friendship – brothers Euan and Finn Manning, their cousin Darragh and their former schoolmates Oskar Gudinovic and Aaron Hurley – the five-piece have already positioned themselves at the vanguard of the Irish independent rock scene. And with ‘Masquerade’, they have flung off any shackles to craft something entirely their own.
‘Masquerade’ will be released on all physical formats including a Rough Trade exclusive Galaxy vinyl, Retail and Artist store variants as well as CD and cassette (exclusively via the band’s store). Those in Australia will also be able to order an exclusive edition via Impressed.
PRE-ORDER ‘MASQUERADE’ HERE
LISTEN TO ‘THE BURNING OF CORK’ HERE
LISTEN TO ‘MASQUERADE’ HERE
The band have also seen songs from their self-titled debut EP appear in Netflix’s new drama “House of Guinness” and in EA Sport’s popular “Skate” series.
After recent live performances including Fontaines D.C.’s massive Finsbury Park all-dayer, supporting Wunderhorse twice in Dublin and a return to the US to support The Pogues in Boston, the band recently headlined the So Young tour with Mên An Tol and Pebbledash and are now touring in support of NewDad in both the UK and Ireland.
The band have also shared details of a headline tour across mainland Europe in late November to round off the year.
Cardinals live:
22nd October 2025 – Bristol, Electric Bristol (with NewDad)
23rd October 2025 – Cardiff, Tramshed (with NewDad)
24th October 2025 – Birmingham, XOYO (with NewDad)
26th October 2025 – Brighton, CHALK (with NewDad)
28th October 2025 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town (with NewDad)
31st October 2025 – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre (with NewDad)
1st November 2025 – Cork, Cyprus Avenue (with NewDad)
2nd November 2025 – Galway, Leisureland (with NewDad)
4th November 2025 – Belfast, Mandela Hall (with NewDad)
24th November 2025 – Paris, Point Ephemere
26th November 2025 – Berlin, Kantine
27th November 2025 – Düsseldorf, Ratinger Hof
28th November 2025 – Gent, Trefpunt
29th November 2025 – Nijmegen, Doornroosje
30th November 2025 – Amsterdam, Tolhuistuin
Cardinals
Masquerade
Out February 13th 2026
So Young Records
She Makes Me Real
St. Agnes
Masquerade
I Like You
Over At Last
Anhedonia
Barbed Wire
Big Empty Heart
The Burning of Cork
As I Breathe
Cardinals are:
Euan Manning – guitar and vocals
Oskar Gudinovic – guitar
Aaron Hurley – bass
Finn Manning – accordion
Darragh Manning – drums