cardinal: hymns

Eighteen years after the release of their landmark self-titled debut, Cardinal -- the recording collaboration between Richard Davies and Eric Matthews --are preparing to unveil their long awaited new album. The new record, entitled Hymns, picks up where their debut left off -- well-crafted, layered orchestral pop, with Matthews' multi-instrumental talents enhancing Davies' sublime songwriting gems. Hymns comprises ten new originals, another milestone in the band's quest to provide the missing link in chamber pop history, following the Beatles and Bee Gees and before Belle & Sebastian, and a worthy follow up to their self-titled debut, a record lauded then, and now, as one of the most important albums of the '90s. Ushering in an era of appreciation for the orchestrated pop music the 1960s, with a modern approach, Cardinal's debut opus, originally released in 1994, seemed to come out of nowhere with its layered textures and delightful melodies, swimming against the tidal wave of grunge