"A gothic re-imagining of Cork"
By Tom Skinner 25th November 2025
Cardinals. CREDIT: Steve Gullick
Cardinals have shared a new single, ‘Barbed Wire’, and announced a UK and Ireland tour for 2026. Listen and find all the details below.
- Read More: Cardinals: the Cork indie band set on writing future classics
The gloomy song will appear on the Cork band’s debut studio album, ‘Masquerade’, which is out on February 13 via So Young (pre-order/pre-save here).
Advertisement“It’s very much inspired by the history of our city and the Gaol house that stood on the South Gate Bridge many years ago,” explained frontman Euan Manning. “Lyrically, I had hoped to evoke images of silhouetted city walls and security fences.”
He continued: “Sometimes aesthetics can carry a song from its inception to its completion. Kevin Barry’s novel City Of Bohane also served as inspiration for a gothic re-imagining of Cork.”
In the chorus, he sings: “Once more like you really meant it/ All fours and all six senses/ Once more for the great big entrance/ South Gate with the barbed wire fences/ And I can hardly breathe/ Alcohol and ecstasy.”
The track arrives with a suitably grainy, black-and-white official music video, directed by Xander Lewis. Tune in here:
Recommended‘Barbed Wire’ marks the fourth single from the upcoming ‘Masquerade’, following on from its title track, ‘Big Empty Heart’ and ‘The Burning Of Cork’.
Speaking previously about the LP, Manning described it as shifting from “the brittle honesty of folk to the theatrical melodrama of goth-rock” throughout.
“Something the record looks at is peeling back the ‘masquerade’ or the facade we all put up,” he added. “The curtain is pulled and cynicism takes its place – it’s really easy to be cynical and far harder to be hopeful and genuine.”
Cardinals are set to showcase the album on a UK and Ireland headline tour in March. Dates are scheduled in Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Bristol, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. These will follow their current run of shows in Europe. Find any remaining tickets here (UK/Ireland).
Cardinals’ 2026 UK and Ireland tour dates are:
AdvertisementMARCH: 05 – Ulster Sports Club, Belfast 06 – Live At St. Luke’s, Cork 07 – The Workman’s Club, Dublin 10 – Exchange, Bristol 11 – The Garage, London 13 – YES (Pink Room), Manchester 14 – The Grove, Newcastle 15 – King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
Cardinals. CREDIT: Steve Gullick
NME featured Cardinals in the 2025 NME 100 – a round-up of essential emerging artists for the year ahead: “Take The Strokes’ knack for a laissez-faire indie hook, a little bit of honey-drizzled shoegaze, some new wave grace, a whole lot of Irish spirit and chuck in an accordion for good measure and you’ve got the punky sun-kissed romance of this Cork five-piece: the Class Of 2025’s ‘most likely to do a Fontaines and get massive’.”
During an interview with NME early last year, Manning explained that he wanted the band to make a “classic Cork album”.
“I think you want to be out of your comfort zone as much as you can,” he added. “I’d hate to think that we’ve become lax and settled into something. It’s good to have a sound, obviously, but we want to keep pushing forward. There’s a whole spectrum of feeling – and I want to capture that.”
Cardinals recently opened for NewDad and supported Fontaines D.C. at their huge show in London’s Finsbury Park this summer. Next May, they’ll make an appearance at Kilby Block Party 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
