{"id":9280,"date":"2026-02-26T08:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=9280"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:22:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:22:02","slug":"cardinals-masquerade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/cardinals-masquerade\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals <br>Masquerade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/masquerade.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-9282\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/masquerade.jpg\" alt=\"Cardinals, Masquerade album cover\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/masquerade.jpg 250w, https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/masquerade-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>It\u2019s tempting to compare Cork five-piece Cardinals to compatriot luminaries like The Pogues, given the healthy doses of accordion that highlight the band\u2019s Irish folk accents. Add to that the fact that their debut full-length, <i>Masquerade<\/i> (So Young Records), sways and swerves like when you\u2019ve had half a dozen too many and are keeping one eye closed in an effort to keep from seeing double. But in truth, the record is smarter than it is swarthy, and the band actually didn\u2019t drink the whole time they were making it.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than intoxication, the Cardinals\u2019 collective pot is stirred by emotional upheaval, with vocalist Euan Manning wearing his heart on his sleeve like Conor Oberst while singing into the abyss like Thom Yorke. It is that thread of existential grappling that cuts through the tumult and gives the band its distinguishing edge. On opener \u201cShe Makes Me Real,\u201d when Manning sings, \u201cIt hurts beyond belief,\u201d you get the sense that he truly is reeling. Similarly, on \u201cBig Empty Heart,\u201d the contrast between waves of guitar and quiet recessions makes the song&#8217;s moments of introspection stand out all the more. Closer \u201cAs I Breathe\u201d shows Manning at his most vulnerable, however, with none of the cacophony found elsewhere to break the unease of lines like, \u201cI had assumed that you had left me here to die.\u201d It\u2019s just the last of many emotionally raw moments that make <i>Masquerade<\/i> a startling debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s tempting to compare Cork five-piece Cardinals to Irish luminaries like The Pogues, given the healthy doses of accordion that highlight the band\u2019s Irish<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14],"tags":[34,2729],"class_list":["post-9280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-au-courant","tag-album-review","tag-cardinals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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