Cardinals, the five-piece hailing from Kinsale, have been crowned “the next great guitar band to emerge from Ireland” by Rolling Stone UK and have also won high praise from NME and Stereogum.

Having spent 2025 in excellent company, supporting Fontaines D.C in Finsbury Park, London, Wunderhorse at Wider Than Pictures, Dublin, The Pogues in the US, their own headline US tour, NewDad’s UK / Irish Tour as well as headlining their own European tour, one could say they’ve cut their teeth in all the right places, before even releasing their debut album.

With most songs for Masquerade written over the past 18 months, the band recorded in the legendary RAK Studios in London, in between all of the aforementioned commitments. It’s clear that Masquerade marks a new era for Cardinals. The making of the album has revealed something new of themselves, opening them up as a more collaborative entity