Review: Cardinals - Masquerade

Cardinals' debut album Masquerade landed on February 13, 2026, with tags spanning alternative, folk rock, indie rock, and post-punk.

It sounds like a leather jacket, a poetry notebook, and a slightly cursed basement got booked for the same session and somehow agreed on arrangement choices.

The mood is strong, but the songs still move with purpose. It is atmospheric without forgetting to be tuneful, which is rarer than it should be.