ADDICTIVE FLAVOR: CARTEL IN CYCLES

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Pop-punk; not so much an addiction as a guilty pleasure. One of my favorite flavors is Cartel. Some may know the band from MTV’s Band in a Bubble (yes, the channel did play things related to music at one point but that bubble has since been popped). The band is back after a long hiatus with a new single, The Perfect Mistake, which is the perfect solution for radio success, and an epic rebirth. 36 million plays later, an MTV mini-series, and tours all over the world has proven that Cartel has retained the “it” factor.

Their third full length album, Cycles, is full of fun and assertion. Opening track Let’s Go screams: “I’ve got so much left to do but I’ll start with this song,” — It’s a great line to initiate you to the release, proving their communal gaze is definitely focused on the future, and all its potential. I find the quintet of Cartel to be real and rousing. This release could have easily been the ideal soundtrack to a victory lap, for they’ve had the success, and are worthy of celebrations. The rock star life has bitten the boys in the ass many years ago, but the swelling never really went down. Rather than living in the past, the group chooses to go forth, to cultivate, sticking to what they’re superior at; hook-laden contemporary rock. After all, Cycles should be repeated indefinitely.

Their music may not be something new or unmarked, or have its own discrete sound, but in this case, that’s the beauty of it. Their good at what they do and don’t try to dip their shit in sugar. There’s something strangely sexy about albums like these. While there’s the accepted truth that “there is nothing new under the sun,” and that art’s magnitude comes more from how the tale is told than what the actual tale is, there are still degrees of uniqueness within the telling.

Cartel is that crew that upon first listen, not only catches your ear, but earns your loyalty, whether you admit to the public or not. I’m not forcing this band down your throat, I just want you to try a taste. Fun pop punk that lets you unleash your 14-year-old Warped Tour mosh-moves, checkered Vans and all. Have some fun, and give in to your guilty pleasure. Explore where Cartel has been, and where they’re going. Let’s go, Cartel, let’s go.