Cartel
Cartel
Epic/The Militia Group
By Kevin Hakansson
Did you happen to stumble across MTV this summer and catch, whether intentionally or not, a show called “Band in a Bubble?” It turned out that the title was quite literal; based on a similar Australian program aired in 2004, the voyeuristic series featured Atlanta alt-rockers Cartel recording an album in 20 days, all spent in a 40’ by 40’ bubble constructed on New York City’s Pier 54, complete with kitchen, living room, and sleeping quarters. And while a large portion of musically inclined America likely wrote off such a stunt as an obnoxious marketing ploy, something funny happened: despite the time restrictions, Cartel came out of the 3 week hibernation with a pretty decent album in hand.
For a band whose partnership with MTV shows obvious inclinations towards pop stardom, the band can certainly rock. After the meek, introductory “The Best,” “Tonight” opens with a guitar sound that’s shockingly big. Frontman Will Pugh’s vocals don’t necessarily follow suit intensity-wise, but the song remains big and bombastic throughout, particularly in the guitar driven transition sections between chorus and verse. Later, “This is Who We Are” follows in similar form. Whenever guitarists Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson play unison, distorted riffs, the audible results are almost overwhelming.
Even when Cartel opts to turn the distortion pedal off, most of the poppier material here is extremely palatable. While first single “Lose It” is a bit canned, the subsequent “No Subject (Come With Me)” features one of Pugh’s finest jobs as vocalist. His chorus of “Come with me, maybe we'll get away,” is repetitive and potentially obnoxious, but is catchy enough to supersede such inclinations. Later, “The Fortunate” is irresistibly sugarcoated sweet, while the introspective “Georgia” is easily the record’s most legitimately emotional effort.
The highlight, far and away, of Cartel is another of the record’s singles. If “Wasted” had been left as a simple rock band arrangement, it likely would have come off as an annoying pop/rock tune. But to spice it up, the band went ahead and added, oh, 30 or so extra musicians to the equation. A 9-piece marching drum line provides the majority of the song’s percussion, an orchestral horn and string section lay down the foundation that guitars and bass would normally supply, while The Boys & Girls Choir of Harlem Alumni Association Ensemble (or the BGCHAAE as their known on the street), a full 16 strong, lay down some tasteful backing vocals. Wyclef Jean even stopped by the bubble to contribute vocals for a remix of the song that appears at the end of the record.
By no means are Cartel revolutionizing indie rock; hell, they’re a full-fledged major label act at this point. But what they did in their bubble, was, in a sense, both revolutionary and independent. They had only 20 days to record an album under the scrutiny of one of the largest pop music companies in the world, and wound up with a product that’s distinctively their own. That’s quite an accomplishment, to say the least.
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