00:05Hi, I'm Andrew Trendle. You're watching NME. We're here at Reading Festival 2026 with Cardinals.
00:11Hi, thanks for having us.
00:13How are we doing, guys?
00:13Oh, very good. Yeah, good to be here.
00:16Well, if I'm not mistaken, this is your Reading Festival debut, am I right?
00:20Yes, took our Reading virginity today, so happy with that.
00:25Are you missing your Reading Cherry? Does it feel good?
00:27Yeah, it's gone. It popped.
00:30I mean, how was it? I mean, do you feel the magic of music history constantly being made in the
00:35air?
00:35How are you getting on?
00:36It's a cool walk of fame, just as we walked in with all the pictures of everyone.
00:41Big, big live album for me growing up was the Nirvana live at Reading and great footage of that show
00:49and stuff as well.
00:49So it's cool to be here. Yeah, I was delighted to get booked for it.
00:53Well, Cardinals live at Reading. Can we see that live album?
00:56In 2000, I don't know, 2032, do you think?
00:58Maybe, yeah, maybe some stage.
01:00Well, the first time I saw you guys was in a dark basement in Oslo after Oya Festival.
01:06Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:08There was about seven of us there.
01:09Yes, I remember that show.
01:10That was an interesting night.
01:13Really glad we played that show in the end.
01:16But we were a bit apprehensive going into it because there was, as you said, about seven people in the
01:20audience, I think.
01:21Well, I think I dragged about five journalists with us. We were like, yeah, let's go.
01:24Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was beautiful though, like Oslo, Norway. Be keen to get back to Norway, play to maybe
01:29ten next time.
01:31Not as nice as Reading though, but yeah, still.
01:32No, yeah. Close competition.
01:35Anyway, then I saw you at the Lexington and there were about maybe 60 people there.
01:40And then I saw you at Finsbury Park and there were about 30,000 people there.
01:44That Lexington was a good show as well, actually, to be fair. I enjoyed that.
01:48Finsbury Park, yeah, that was fun. That was a good day. Good memories on that one.
01:52Yeah, yeah. It was the biggest stage we ever played, probably.
01:56Well, that was it. How are you guys coping with the biggest stages?
02:00Does it change the kind of band you want to be? Do you feel yourself pulling some different moves?
02:03I don't know. Like, it's interesting. It's definitely very different.
02:07We're just over from Japan where we played some big stages.
02:10I think, as a band, in terms of like the music we like, the gigs we like going to, the
02:14artists we like the most,
02:16and as musicians ourselves, we love playing like a club gig, you know.
02:20There's a couple of hundred people in a kind of smaller room.
02:22There's a certain intimacy about it as a punter, I think.
02:26And as a musician, there's definitely more of a connection to the room and to the crowd.
02:31But given that you guys have such an intimate, personal sound,
02:34do you step off stage after Reading or after Finsbury Park and like,
02:38is there part of you that wants to go back and make something a bit more bombastic next time?
02:44It's interesting, yeah. I don't know.
02:46I think like, I think we like to look at it through the lens of like how music has served
02:53us, you know.
02:55And I feel like for a lot of us, that's more of like listening to records and going to like
03:00intimate shows,
03:00because we're not, we're not regulars at festivals or like big stadium shows or anything like that.
03:05So, I don't, maybe there's like a slight touch of that, but I feel like we remind ourselves fairly regularly
03:11that like,
03:12the stuff we like is the stuff that's a bit more close to the ear, like, you know.
03:16Yeah.
03:16But, sure, a small part, maybe, yeah.
03:19And people come to you for a certain thing.
03:21So, it's been six months of Masquerade now, am I right?
03:26About that, yeah. February was, yeah, about that, about half a year, yeah.
03:30How's the year of Masquerade going?
03:31It's been going good.
03:32I think, you know, we've had some really enjoyable moments touring the album.
03:38And, I mean, it was such, there was so much effort went into writing that album, recording it and stuff.
03:44I remember when we first kind of held the album in an office in London,
03:49shortly before it came out as a real special moment, holding the record, you know.
03:53So, I think we're all very proud of it, you know.
03:56And it very much kind of pinpoints that point of our lives and our careers as a band, that era.
04:03So, yeah, very happy with how it's gone.
04:06Looking into the future now for more music.
04:08So, that's exciting too.
04:10Well, given that there's so much heart and emotional weight behind the record, behind what you do.
04:15I'm just wondering, how would you like describe your connection to your fans?
04:18Is it quite personal? Is it quite intense?
04:21Yeah, I would say so. Like, I would say so.
04:23I mean, it's easier to, again, the thing with like a club show, like it's easier to tell,
04:28like if somebody is cheering up to a song or if somebody's emotional about a song,
04:32they can come up to you after the show and tell that to you, you know.
04:34I think it is more like reserved, maybe slightly more personal, you know, personal for them as it is for
04:40us.
04:41And I think it's different in that way.
04:44And you mentioned the future there. What are you guys thinking about album number two? How's progress?
04:48Good, yeah.
04:49Writing at the moment. It's like no time. We're just touring a lot, so it's difficult, you know.
04:56But trying to write as much as we can when we get a chance.
05:00I feel like there's a very like romantic idea of bands on the road sitting in the back of their
05:05van with an acoustic guitar, you know,
05:07and getting time to write. And that's just something that never, you know, really interested us or worked for us
05:14very well.
05:15We like to be in a familiar place that, you know, we all know.
05:19And recently it's been Cork City. It's been for, you know, it's been down in Kinsale as well,
05:27a kind of coastal town, but typically somewhere quiet, somewhere safe and familiar.
05:32And that just seems to be kind of what's worked for us in the past.
05:35So definitely looking forward to getting back to Cork.
05:38And you're kind of in a different mental space, I feel like, when you're writing than when you're on the
05:43road.
05:43So looking forward to that and kind of the rewards, the mental rewards that come with that process.
05:49Well, given that there's like the full emotional spectrum on the album and so much vulnerability on the record in
05:56terms of what you guys do,
05:57do you feel like you need to like live life before you can write? I mean, what are you thinking
06:01lyrically for the next record?
06:03Yeah, I mean, I think so. And I think there's a lot like built up from being on the road
06:08and touring so much, you know.
06:10And I think that'll come out, you know, in its own way, probably our own interpretation of that.
06:15From what we've done so far, like, I think that it's like a darker record, I would say. Yeah.
06:23Beyond that, is there anything like Sonic that you guys have had conversations about and what you want to do?
06:27Yeah, I mean, we're really enjoying electronic music, some heavier stuff, like listen to a lot of like black metal
06:33and stuff like that.
06:34So, I mean, it's not going to be a black metal record or an electronic record,
06:38but there might be some more influences leaning different ways, yeah.
06:43We're trying to like get our chops up in production as well.
06:47So, there's been some time sat in front of laptops with music production softwares
06:52and all the joys that come with that, different digital sounds that you can find.
06:56So, we found that really interesting as well, yeah.
06:59I'm relieved you said chops up in production and not chops up in terms of like thrash metal, double bass
07:03drum.
07:03Oh yeah, chops in terms of production.
07:05Oh yeah, it's early days.
07:06I don't know, yeah. We got the two kick pedals going, you know.
07:09And you guys sticking around, what's your plan for the rest of the day?
07:11I think we might try and see some music, make use of the catering here, get some good food.
07:18And yeah, we're off early to Leeds tomorrow, but hoping to kind of wander around and see if we like
07:26any of the music, yeah.
07:27The crowd are a bit more up for it in Leeds, so be prepared for that.
07:30Yeah, yeah. Northern and feral.
07:32Yes, that's what they say, yeah, yeah.
07:34Cardinals, thank you so much.
