Cardinals announce their debut album Masquerade. Set to land February 13th on tastemaker label So Young Records, the ten song album was recorded with producer Shrink at RAK Studios, London across the summer. Along with the news, the band have shared the LP’s title-track. Cardinals recently played Fontaines D.C.’s massive Finsbury Park all-dayer, as well as supporting Wunderhorse twice in Dublin and a return to the US last week to support The Pogues in Boston, they remain Stateside currently for the last of a string of headline dates there before returning to the UK to headline the So Young tour with Mên An Tol and Pebbledash later this month.

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.

‘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.

Frontman Euan Manning says of the new record and their new single:

“Something the record looks at is peeling back the ‘masquerade’ or the facade we all put up. The curtain is pulled and cynicism takes its place – it’s really easy to be cynical and far harder to be hopeful and genuine. We’ve learnt this through playing and touring but you can’t be a total cynic if you’re making music or films or whatever it is, making art forces you to dig deeper than that protective layer. Stripping it back is painful, you can find things you’re really not proud of but it also lends itself to a sort of acceptance that can’t be attained if you don’t allow yourself that vulnerability. A lot of the themes and ideas in the album come from that place.”

“The song Masquerade is the broadest exploration of that. It’s definitely one of the more intimate moments on the album. The vulnerability it reveals is uncomfortable and that’s where we wanted to be when we were writing the songs on the record.”

The announce of ‘Masquerade’ follows the warmly received ‘Big Empty Heart’ single, the only song Cardinals have previously released that makes the track list of their debut album, last year’s one-off single ‘Get It’ and before that a self-titled debut EP.

Cardinals
Masquerade
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 2025 Tour Dates:

16th September – Zebulon, Los Angeles, CA
22nd September – Bristol, Strange Brew
23rd September 2025 – Southampton, Joiners
25th September 2025 – Norwich, Waterfront Studio
26th September 2025 – Leeds, Belgrave
27th September 2025- Manchester, Yes Pink Room
29th September 2025- Brighton, Patterns
30th September 2025 – London, Moth Club
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

Pre-order Masquerade by Cardinals HERE