Cartel

Formed in Conyers, Georgia, Cartel took shape in 2003 around musicians from the same area who quickly became active on the American alternative scene. Originally conceived as a five-piece, Cartel now revolves around Will Pugh, Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson. Their repertoire sits between pop-punk, alternative rock, emo pop and emo rock, with songs built on clear melodies, straightforward choruses and songwriting that favors efficiency while retaining an emotional register that evolved from adolescent to more adult over the years. After the EP The Ransom in 2004, Cartel released Chroma in 2005, an album that established them in the American pop-punk circuit, followed by greater exposure in 2007 with the album Cartel, recorded as part of MTV’s Band in a Bubble experiment. The group continued with Cycles in 2009 and Collider in 2013, while carrying out tours and lineup changes, notably at bass. Cartel shared stages with bands from the pop-punk and emo scenes of the 2000s and 2010s, while maintaining an identity centered on bright guitars, a taut tempo and carefully crafted melodies. After several years without a new studio album, Cartel resumed releasing new material in 2022 with “17” and “The End.”