Cardinals

Formed near Cork on Ireland’s south coast, Cardinals sharpen a taut, melodic strain of guitar music that slips from their post-punk beginnings into a more melancholic indie rock. Built around brothers Euan and Finn Mannings with their cousin Dara, later joined by schoolmates Aaron and Oskar, the five-piece fold shoegaze textures, rough-edged Britpop and a hint of goth into songs that keep a clear, direct pulse. An accordion runs through their arrangements as a backbone rather than a flourish, giving their sound an instantly recognisable grain within the current Irish guitar scene.

From early, nervy tracks to more spacious, nuanced writing, the group has widened its palette without shedding the bite of its origins. Guitars blur and chime, voices lean into a salt-air melancholy, and rhythms nod as easily to folk patterns as to hip-hop cadences. It’s a blend that balances tension and melody, local references and open-ended influences, always anchored by a straightforward energy.

Cardinals play Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on 16 November 2026.