Cardinals "Masquerade" Album Review

Magda Kanecka
Mar 3
5 min read

Magda Kanecka | March 2026

Cardinals, the Cork-based five-piece specialising in hard-hitting rock, released their debut album on February 13, 2026.

After touring with the band NewDad on their late-2025 UK tour, the expectations for this album had been building up with each of the four pre-release singles, such as “I Like You” and “The Burning of Cork”.

The opening track, “She Makes Me Real”, reminds me of the outro of My Chemical Romance’s iconic emo tune “Welcome To The Black Parade” in its edgy but complex drum and guitar combinations.

Upon first listening, I became an instant fan of the track, and I still wish it were longer than its 2 minutes and 58 seconds in length.

“St. Agnes” indirectly tells the story of the 4th-century martyr Agnes of Rome, who was executed for her Christian faith. Reading the lyrics, I interpret the song to be questioning the ethics of religious belief, under the disguise of a more upbeat melody than its precursor on the tracklist.

I had high expectations for the album’s title track, “Masquerade”, and it is safe to say they were met. With lyrics such as “Pouring through what’s left / If you wanna make it right / I am back today / For just one night”, the lead singer Euan Manning takes the listener on an emotional journey through the feelings that are often left unsaid between two people. Upon my first listen of the album, this track was and still is my favourite after “She Makes Me Real”.

“I Like You”, one of the singles from the Cardinals’ debut album, starts off slowly before exploding with drums and accordion lines from Finn Manning. The accordion use by the band always stands out to me, though it has become a staple in Cardinals’ music by now. The lyrics of this track are vulnerable, as the title suggests, but they do not miss out on detail where necessary. “I won’t write the words past the margins / When I sit down to write your song” – “I Like You” is half a confession and half a personal vow not to put too much effort into a relationship that is possibly unrequited.

“Over At Last” carries on the accordion sounds that are central to the instrumentals of this debut album. The song starts off rapidly, and Euan Manning’s vocals contrast well with the soundscape, where the accordion is later accompanied by heavy drumming from Darragh Manning in the choruses and bridge. Euan’s vocals grow angry and emotional until the outro of the song, when both the melody and the vocals tone down exponentially. This up-and-down reflects a cycle of emotions that are expressed throughout the album.

“Anhedonia”, meaning a reduced ability to experience joy and pleasure, describes just that. The lyrics question how long this discomfort will go on for, adding: “I know I’m not the only one who suffers / Suffering is grown”. The track’s melody stylistically reminds me of Twenty One Pilots’ early work, which should be a big compliment for a band that has just released its full-length.

Heading into the latter half of the album, “Barbed Wire” shifts moods between the first and second half of the song. Starting off as more upbeat, it then delves into a darker ending. The black-and-white music video shot by Xander Lewis does the song justice, and the frontman and lead singer, Euan Manning, described the lyrics as capturing the culture and history of their hometown, Cork.

He said: “[The track] is very much inspired by the history of our city and the Gaol house that stood on the south gate bridge many years ago, lyrically I had hoped to evoke images of silhouetted city walls and security fences.”

“Big Empty Heart” comes with polar opposite feelings: deep-rooted anger and comfort, both born out of being around a specific person. The lyrics “’Cause my legs are blown to bits, and I always feel shit / Well, with you, I kinda feel okay” contrast with the later “You’re a pet, and you’re sleek, and your smile makes me not mind all the words that you say”. The lyrics later mention the lead singer’s mum, which leads me to conclude that the track perhaps resembles a complicated, ever-changing relationship, such as one between a mother and her child.

Wasting no time and immediately creating an intense and near-intimidating atmosphere, “The Burning of Cork” references the 1920 attack by British Forces on the Irish city of Cork, where the band is from. At just short of two minutes in length, this is arguably the most eerie track on “Masquerade”, but there is something so passionate about the vocals here, which makes sense given the band’s origins. There is a lot of repetition throughout this track, which only adds to its obsessive and unsettling nature.

This leads well into the closing track of the record, “As I Breathe”, which opens with slower, lone accordion notes. The longest song on the album, at six minutes, takes the listener on a journey of obsession and confusion and teaches them to be more appreciative of their life conditions and not to take them for granted as Euan Manning sings, “Still my heart is pure, makes me hate it all the more”.

The later lyric, “You can wear the chain, I’ll wear the collar of my clerical order” pays rightful tribute to their band name. “As I Breathe” closes off the album on a slower note, though the last two minutes of the song still pick up on the tempo before dropping it again.

“Masquerade” successfully blends fury and optimism with obsession, disguising them under a mask as the title suggests. Cardinals frequently use religious imagery and do not shy away from discussing historical events of their home country of Ireland, such as through the lyric “You can’t bundle faith / It will dry like hate” in the title track “Masquerade”, and the whole of “The Burning of Cork”, especially given its context.

I went into this release with great excitement, having seen Cardinals perform some of the singles on their tour with NewDad, and this release lived up to this. Each track is raw and descriptive of a different life scenario, all while paying tribute to the band’s background. Euan Manning’s vocals are full of emotion, pulling the listener in and making them want to hear more.

I am very excited for what’s to come for Cardinals, but until then, this album scores a solid 5/5 for me.

The band is set to go on tour in the UK, Europe and the US. For details and ticketing information, click here (UK + EU) and here (US).