Cartel - Cycles

'Cycles' was supposed to be the redemption record for Cartel. In 2007, following to their acclaimed debut 'Chroma', they recorded their sophomore self-titled in a glass bubble for a MTV show. The result was absolutely mediocre and let loads of fans down. Cartel thus had a lot to prove with 'Cycles', which was logically described by the band as a return to form to their first full-length.

Musically speaking, yes, 'Cycles' comes back to the sound of 'Chroma'. Simple and catchy choruses ('Let's go', a genuine call to former fans, 'Typical'), big, clean riffs ('The perfect mistake', 'Deep South'), the album is a fair compromise between pop-rock and pop-punk. But qualitatively speaking, it reaches in no way the level of 'Chroma'. The songs are decent but lackluster in general and quite repeatable that it won't make you want to press "Repeat". Will Pugh's vocals may be great, but his lyrics are below average. None of the intrumentations are really innovative and are rather pretty identical. The middle section of the album is especially weak, 'Only you' being a typical stripped-down acoustic song, 'It still remains' reminding early Simple Plan and the chorus of '27 steps' sounding too familiar to be really enjoyable.

'Cycles' has some good choruses, melodies and hooks but nothing is great enough to be memorable. Some fans may be happy to find the 'Chroma'-era sound again, but the ones with the highest expectations for this album will be disappointed to find it just okay.

3/5

Recommanded if you like:
The All-American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Houston Calls
Check also:
Olivia The Band, Parade The Day, Amely

www.myspace.com/cartel
(Wind-Up Records, 2009)