now playing - cartel

jeez. do i have a lot to say. i've been mulling over this album for weeks.

cartel is a young band. let's get that out of the way. they hadn't been on the scene for more than an enthralling EP the ransom and one amazing full length chroma prior to their self-titled release.

chroma garnered a huge amount of praise. everyone was in love with it. i couldn't avoid reading about the newest pop-punk alternative rock band ravaging everyone's ears. there's no doubt that it rocketed cartel into the mainstream. but although they gained some momentum, they remained relatively underground.
sure, they had some trl appearances and "honestly" became their first single, but something i've kept in the back of my mind is that they weren't (at the point of the record's production) a product of the mainstream. they had written an album that was true, virgin music before everyone's ears could have their way with it.

shortly after this chain of events, cartel were inevitably signed to a major. this action left them with an obvious and daunting dilemma. they wanted to write a new album, but were sweating in spotlight hounding them by their ever growing fan base. their label pushed them to do a sponsored promotional stunt which filmed the band's attempt to write the self titled album in a "bubble." all of these things going on would make anyone lose some focus, so in the midst of it all, how could they possibly top chroma?

given that position, a band must have quite a bit to think about. do they branch out and reinvent their sound, risking fans who will think that they're trying too hard to stand out? do they stick to what they know and do so well, risking fans that will think they've lost their edge? do they do a little bit of both? i think that no matter what they did, people wouldn't see them as the same band.

the self titled was released in august 2007 without making much of a splash. the few reviews that i had read before making the purchase had little to say. everything i read, however, had confirmed my fears. the band had watered themselves down. they did what all bands do when they lose focus of what made them so great. it was something i reluctantly expected (to some degree), seeing their progression to a major and more frequent stops in the spotlight.

now why would i be making such a big deal of a band that i had thought to be just another sell out? well luckily, there's a mammoth sized difference between the past and present, especially for me.

the biggest mistake i made was not bothering to LISTEN to the music being reviewed. i let my assumptions take over. i let myself be pulled into common opinion. i was played by the 'scene' or whatever you'd like to call it.

six months or so after it was released, i decided to check out their myspace page for gits and shiggles. i sauntered in there holding my presumptions like a soapbox ready to righteously laugh off anything that came through those headphones. and laugh, i... didn't.

i will admit that "lose it" (the first song that plays on their myspace) is not the most appealing of songs on the album. it does fit well as a single, but wasn't anything that hooked me into buying. that award goes to the song "wasted". it singlehandedly slew the presumptuous beast lurking inside me.

maybe it was the high that the song gave me that pushed me to click that "one click buy" button on amazon's mp3 store (they make it too easy for a junkie like me.) the lead singer's voice is a drug for me... his range is impeccable, so sugary sweet. call it a guilty pleasure, but i just dare you not to like it. just... one more...

but i digress.

the self titled is pop-punk. actually, pop is an understatement. the album is literally dripping in sugar. the melodies are crack-level addictive. hooks are embedded in every song (covered in fourteen layers of that soft serve chocolate shell stuff) waiting for you to sink your teeth in to take you for a ride.

this is not something to be ashamed of listening to. pop such as this has come packaged with a stigma associated with it. i feel as though people with more "mature" tastes would scoff at this record the second "the best" meanders through the speakers. i say that those with that sort of attitude don't deserve to listen to it. if you can suppress all those prejudices for shiny, overly produced, and (oh no you din't) adolescent music; then i say, is this for you. leave all those presumptions at the door and just enjoy it for what it is.

cartel has far surpassed my expectations. i wish i could just say i'm sorry to the band for questioning them. i want to never again fall victim to mindless reviewers who don't take the time to listen. and although the "everyone has their own tastes" card can be played, i think it's hard to deny that there was, contrary to popular belief, a significant amount of effort put into this project. the effort shows, and shines right through that "sophomore slump" moniker. i dare you to give this record a chance and if you don't like it, give it another.

we're all wasted.

<|pop, punk, rock|>

riyl: rocket summer, valencia, getting the feeling that everyone else just sucks at listening to music