Album Review: Cardinals, Masquerade

From the first bars of Masquerade opener ‘She Makes It Real’, I’m thinking, ‘Yeah man, at last, in an alternative Irish indie band – don’t shoot the accordion player!’ Finn Manning is the card-carrying member of the squeezebox union in Cardinals, and he weaves shades of psychedelic folk reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut and Arcade Fire.

All of which is boss, and beyond that, his brother Euan possesses a gem of a slacker rock vocal style. The psychedelic reel of the galloping ‘Anhedonia’ is marvellous, evoking Modest Mouse in their early pomp. For good measure, Cardinals’ soundscapes – vintage shoegaze here, sublime goth rock there – are always bolstered by splendid drumming.

Elsewhere, ‘Barbed Wire’, a rootsy, Calexico-like stomp – inspired in part by the writings of Kevin Barry – is a delight, while ‘Big Empty Heart’ is equally impressive. They come up for air on ‘The Burning Of Cork’, before finishing with ‘As I Breathe’ – a ballad worthy of none other than Townes Van Zandt. Mighty stuff.

9/10