GOSHEN, Ind. — “Masquerade” is the second single off of the upcoming album of the same name by alternative band Cardinals. Released on September 15, the single comes a year after their 2024 self-titled EP. Currently the band, which hails from Cork, Ireland, is on tour in Europe, with stops including the United Kingdom, France, and their home country.
The song features no shortage of high-gain electric guitar and punk style drumming. However, the most notable feature of the song – or, for that matter, the band – doesn’t lie in the typical rock instruments that they employ. Instead, any listener is sure to catch the sound of the accordion, drifting along behind the verses or jumping forward into the lead on the heavy musical interludes.
Released on the same day as the song was an accompanying music video, which features Cardinals frontman Euan Manning singing from the center of a ring of candles in a dark, ominous room. The video cuts hectically between Manning and a pair of people, with cloth over their entire heads, as they embrace.
All in all, the video has a sort of off-putting manner about it, but perhaps this was precisely what the band was striving for. It is fitting imagery to represent the idea of a masquerade, which in and of itself is a disconcerting sort of thing.
However, there is an interesting contradiction when it comes to the lyrics of the song. The very first line is “Take you as you are,” which presents an interesting point when compared with what a masquerade represents: seeing somebody not as they are. I leave it to the listener to decide what to make of that.
– Josiah Miller, Globe Pal
Each week, a Globe-pal (AKA a DJ at 91.1 the Globe) uploads a review of a Globe track that is sent out and posted on globeradio.org/music. The Globe Track of the Week is proudly presented by 91.1 the Globe, the best college radio station in Indiana.
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