Light Up

Image Credit: Sacha Lecca for Rolling Stone

Hurley, Gudinovic, and Finn Manning have a smoke before the gig. Before going onstage, the band members each usually throw back a standard libation of “two beers and a stiff drink.” They’re not particular about the specifics: “Something with alcohol in it,” Finn says. “Yeah, that’s the main thing,” Gudinovic agrees.

Check One

Image Credit: Sacha Lecca for Rolling Stone

The band run through their set at a late-afternoon soundcheck. Once they’re onstage, the mood turns “very serious,” as Finn puts it: “We get all our smiles out in the green room.”

Hot Nights

Image Credit: Sacha Lecca for Rolling Stone

Cardinals recorded Masquerade over about two weeks last June at London’s RAK Studios, working with producer Sam Breathwick, a.k.a. Shrink. The sweltering summer weather colored the mood of the sessions, as did political events around the world. “It was an incredible heat wave in London,” Euan says. “The Iran war had just kicked off.…