Cardinals return today with “Unreal”, their much-anticipated follow-up to last year’s debut single proper, “Roseland”, a song saw them heralded across press for the maturity and fully-formed nature of their sound. The 7″ vinyl, released on tastemaker label So Young. Following a filmed performance for Other Voices in their homeland, and the support of Fontaines D.C.‘s Grian Chatten, who called them “one of my favourite new bands” during an interview with BBC Radio 1, the band performed for The Great Escape’s First Fifty at the tail end of last year and will now perform at the main festival in May, with their first US performances confirmed to take place before then at SXSW next month. “Unreal”, and “Roseland” follow a self-release, “Amsterdam” and its B-side “The Brow”, uploaded early last year to Bandcamp.

Cardinals include Euan Manning – guitar and vocals, Kieran Hurley – guitar, Oskar Gudinovic – guitar, Aaron Hurley – bass, Finn Manning – accordion and
Darragh Manning – drums.

Front man Euan Manning had the following to say about the single:

“”Unreal” was written in the back of a Ford Transit van that I happened to be living in at the time. It reminds me of warm days spent on the beaches at home back in Cork. I remember learning a Beach Boys song, taking one of the chords from it, and building a whole new song, this one, around it.”

Cardinals 2024 Tour Dates

March

8th-16th SXSW, Austin

May

9th Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
11th Yes (Basement), Manchester
12th McChullis, Glasgow
14th The Windmill, London
15th The Joiners, Southampton
16th The Great Escape, Brighton
24th Róisín Dubh, Galway
25th Kasbah Social Club, Limerick
26th Cyprus Avenue, Cork

Order “Unreal” by Cardinals HERE