Situated in the heart of Camden on what felt like the coldest night of the year, the Electric Ballroom offered a welcome refuge for those arriving to see . Inside, the crowd gradually filtered in as opening act Black Nylon took to the stage; a three-guitar line-up creating a wall of sound that made for an assured warm-up, prompting approving nods around the room.
By 9pm, Cardinals emerged from the darkness, opening with ‘Twist and Turn’. The quintet, formed in Cork after originally coming together in Kinsale, have spent the past few years establishing themselves as one of Ireland’s more intriguing new indie-rock groups. The band is heavily familial: frontman Euan Manning leads on vocals and guitar, joined by his brother Finn Manning on accordion, cousin Darragh Manning on drums, and school friends Oskar Gudinovic on guitar and Aaron Hurley on bass.
Released via So Young Records in February, their debut album, ‘‘, is a ten-track exploration of love, religion, suffering and deception. Across its 33-minute runtime, the record alternates between abrasive post-punk passages and also drops of unexpected tenderness, drawing comparisons to the likes of Irish peers Fontaines D.C.
Finn Manning emerged with a tambourine during the opening number, adding to the track’s vim and vigour before seamlessly switching to his accordion. It’s perhaps the band’s most distinctive feature, sitting alongside the guitars and bringing a folk-influenced quality to a repertoire that might otherwise lean towards post-punk. The third song of the evening, the album’s titular track, offered an early demonstration of this contrast. And the crowd, at first restrained, became noticeably more animated as the familiar melodies of ‘Masquerade’ filled the room.
The five musicians sounded cohesive on stage, with the guitars building a solid foundation while Euan Manning’s brooding vocals cut cleanly through the instrumentation. Finn’s accordion was particularly effective here, offering an unconventional accompaniment, bringing an uplifting, nostalgic warmth to the band’s sound. Other highlights included ‘I Like You’ and ‘Anhedonia’, both showcasing the band’s capacity to alternate between heavier instrumentation and more restrained passages. ‘Twist and Turn’, meanwhile, was an effective opening statement, a call to “rock it up and roll it”. That and the title track prompted considerably more feedback from the audience. The set, drawing heavily from their debut full-length, gave the audience an opportunity to hear the album’s contrasting sounds in more granular detail.
Despite the range of the material, the crowd remained relatively still for much of the performance. There was little interaction between songs, with Cardinals seemingly content to let the music do the talking. Occasional glances passed between the members on stage, and the band thanked the audience for coming, but there was no attempt to force a connection with the room.
The set ended without an encore, its conclusion arriving with ‘If I Could Make You Care’ from their self-titled 2024 EP. The Electric Ballroom may not have had the most receptive audience, but the set demonstrated the strengths of Cardinals’ synergy on stage. More importantly, it proved that the band’s music translates just as convincingly in a live setting as it does on record. On a bitterly cold night in Camden, Cardinals made a compelling case for themselves as a group well worth keeping an eye on.