Music of 2026, # 11 : CARDINALS

Information sourced through the Bandcamp website . . . . . .

Cardinals are a rising six-piece Irish rock band from Cork, emerging in the mid-2020s with a distinct blend of traditional Irish music, post-punk, and indie art-rock. Known for their poetic songwriting and energetic live performances, the band released their debut album Masquerade on February 13, 2026, featuring popular singles like "Barbed Wire" and "Masquerade". 

Band Members

• Euan Manning: Vocals, Guitar
• Finn Manning: Accordion
• Oskar Gudinovic: Guitar
• Aaron Hurley: Bass
• Darragh: Drums, Tambourine, Glockenspiel 

Key Information & Style

• Origin: Cork, Ireland.
• Sound: A mix of noisy post-punk, traditional Irish influences, and melodic art-rock.
• Upcoming Activity: Touring the US in May 2026.
• Debut Album: Masquerade (2026). 

LISTEN HERE . . . . . .

Cardinals - Masquerade

Cardinals - I Like You (live)

Cardinals - Big Empty Heart

Cardinals - Barbed Wire

Book Review: HIDE by Kiersten White

HIDE by Kiersten White (Del Rey, May 2, 2023) Paperback, 272 pages. ISBN #9780593359259. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . .

The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught.

The prize: enough money to change everything.

Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that.

It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t.

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes that this competition is even more sinister than she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide but nowhere to run.

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

 

My FOUR-STAR Review on the Goodreads website . . . .

Popular YA author Kiersten White's first foray into adult fiction is a winner. How far would someone be willing to go to attain success? Would they abandon their morals, and become conscious-less and sacrifice others? That's at the crux of this novel, which also has underlying social commentary about the haves and have-nots. 

An alleged reality-show survival game goes off the rails. The story features characters to care about and later lament their passing. There are several twists as the story moves along at a frenetic pace. There were several options for White to end the story, and I was extremely satisfied with her choice. 

Video: THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . . . . .

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a 1958 American fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Torin Thatcher, Richard Eyer and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and produced by Charles H. Schneer.

It was the first of three Sinbad feature films from Columbia, the later two from the 1970s being The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). All three Sinbad films were conceptualized by Ray Harryhausen using Dynamation, the full color widescreen stop motion animation technique that he created.

While similarly named, the film does not follow the storyline of the tale "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor" but instead has more in common with the Third and Fifth voyages of Sinbad.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was selected in 2008 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Watch the video here . . . . .   7th Voyage of Sinbad Trailer

THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel: I first saw this when I was a kid and I was fascinated by it, especially the Cyclops. A great example of the stop-motion animation techniques of Ray Harryhausen. My favorite of the three Sinbad movies, with JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS being my all-time #1 Harryhausen movie. These are all still worth watching today. Quite magical. 

Video: THE PITT Season Two

 THE PITT SEASON TWO on HBO MAX:  Equal to the tension and frenetic pacing of Season One. Outstanding performances from a great ensemble cast, headed by Noah Wylie as head of emergency services at a Pittsburgh hospital (my home town from 1952-1982). 

Each episode covers a one-hour period of a 15-hour shift for Dr. Robbie (Wylie). Watch the official preview at this link . . . . .     THE PITT: SEASON TWO

Advance Preview: THE HAB from Bad Idea Press

 EDITOR'S NOTE: All information herein provided by BAD IDEA. I'm just sharing it with you because this is a book that should be of interest to many of you. NOTE: The panels below are the same preview of THE HAB that I mentioned in my review of BEYOND MEGALITH (see My Week In Comics - April 19, 2026) . . . . . . . .

SOLD OUT! THE HAB Demolishes First Printing Just Days After Launch -- Rushed Back To Print!

THE HAB #1 is a screaming success! Just two days after launch, THE HAB #1 has SOLD OUT at the distributor level. But fear not! We're rushing this petrifying premiere back to print in order to keep up with overwhelming demand! Don't miss out on a modern horror masterpiece-in-the-making with THE HAB #1 Second Printing (LUNAR CODE: 0426BD8007), descending into comic shops on May 20th!

***THE HAB #1 Second Printing*** Written by JOSHUA DYSART Art by DAVID LAPHAM, BILL SIENKIEWICZ & JACOB PHILLIPS Cover by CHARLIE ADLARD $5.99  |  48 PGS.  |  FULL COLOR   ORDER BY MONDAY MAY 4TH |  IN STORES MAY 20TH LUNAR CODE: 0426BD8007

Eisner Award–nominated writer Joshua Dysart (Vertigo's UNKNOWN SOLIDER)! Eisner Award-winning artist David Lapham (STRAY BULLETS)! Eisner Award-winning artist Bill Sienkiewicz (NEW MUTANTS)! Eisner Award-nominated superstar artist Jacob Phillips (THAT TEXAS BLOOD)!  Eisner Award–nominated colorist Bill Crabtree (INVINCIBLE)! Eisner Award-winning colorist Matt Hollingsworth (BATMAN)! Eisner Award–nominated cover artist Charlie Adlard (THE WALKING DEAD)! All combine their unearthly powers for a super-sized, 48-page issue that is the must-read horror series of the year. Pre-order your copy of THE HAB #1 Second Printing by Final Order Cutoff on Monday, May 4th.

Mercurial billionaire Tuttle Barrows prepared for everything—even the end of the world. Years ago he wielded his immense power and fortune to build a massive sealed habitat atop a once protected ancient freshwater glacial cave. Now, as the world outside unravels, Barrows, his family, and a handpicked inner circle retreat to their final sanctuary—a place built to outlast civilization itself. But something was already there. Beneath layers of ice, in the ancient freshwater vault, a long-dormant danger lurks. While hallucinations twist their reality and violence spreads like a fever they must descend deeper or risk their last refuge becoming a tomb.

***THE HAB #2*** Written by JOSHUA DYSART Art by DAVID LAPHAM & BILL SIENKIEWICZ Cover by CHARLIE ADLARD $5.99  |  32 PGS.  |  FULL COLOR   ORDER BY MONDAY |  IN STORES

PLUS, make sure to pre-order your copy of May's  THE HAB #2! The walls of THE HAB are closing in the next bloody chapter of Eisner-nominated writer Joshua Dysart (UNKNOWN SOLDIER) and Eisner Award-winning artists David Lapham (STRAY BULLETS) and Bill Sienkiewicz’s (NEW MUTANTS) groundbreaking horror tour-de-force. Get your order in before Final Order Cutoff on Monday, April 20th!

NOWHERE TO RUN. Trapped inside their would be refuge and cut off from a dying world, Tuttle Barrows and his handpicked survivors struggle to maintain their grip on sanity even as they are gripped by sudden and horrifying hallucinations. Soon, scars from the past are violently gouged open and revelatory memories long buried begin to spill out, clawing their way into The Hab’s macabre new reality. Resident physician Dr. Farooqi struggles to contain the spreading madness as something continues savagely dispatching the remaining crew one-by-one. Now, the only hope for survival lies in unlocking the ancient cave buried deep beneath The Hab to uncover the secret that will keep them alive – or end them forever.

For more information, visit Bad Idea online at BadIdeaCorp.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or just mash the screen with your palm and do all four simultaneously.