During my middle school and high school days, pop/rock music WAS MY LIFE.  I was addicted, absolutely infatuated to its helplessly catchy power of pop.  Sure, I may have matured a little with my music taste, but I’ll always love that genre. ALWAYS.  It’s what made me love music…

In the course of discovering amazing pop/rock bands, I remember fortunately stumbling upon a band that PERFECTLY fitted in the music I loved at the time; it was progressive, hard hitting, and powerful pop music that exceeded most bands in that genre.  This band, of course, was CARTEL.

From then on… I’ve always been a fan.

Their 5 song EP called The Ransom (2004) depicted Cartel at their youth and (even though I may say this for a lot of bands) showcased the band at their most raw form.  In 2005 they released their first full length album Chroma introducing the world  to singles such as “Honestly” and “Say Anything (Else).”

In 2007 Cartel released their self-titled sophomore effort, which unfortunately did not push the band any farther.  Though the album had some of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard, including “The Fortunate” and their single “Lose It,” the album was a small success.

So now, 2 years later, Cartel will be releasing their third full length album titled Cycles, in stores 10/20/09. Listening to the album’s first single “Let’s Go” (which can be streamed on the band’s myspace), the song takes an epic and uplifting approach with full and heavy instrumentation with supporting lyrics such as “If you got a torch to carry, hold it high…light up the sky…take the world with me.”

Judging from this single, Cartel is sure to release a satisfying effort, giving us the most solid and catchy pop/rock record that will guarantee them stability in today’s music.

Listen to the band’s first single “Let’s Go” from the their upcoming album CYCLES on their myspace, where you can also pre-order the album before it hits stores 10/20/09.

Below is an acoustic version of one of the tracks (possibly another single?) taken from Cycles called “Faster Ride.“  It’s just a song that, again, reminds me of why this band exists in the pop/rock world: they’re just damn catchy, catchy, catchy.