Cycles (Cartel album)
Encyclopedia
Cycles is the third full-length studio album
by American rock
band Cartel
, released through Wind-up Records
on October 20, 2009.
program Band in a Bubble
in 2007 proved costly. Their self-titled
follow up effort sold less than half the records of their debut, Chroma
. Cartel was consequently released from its contract with Epic Records
and left to find a new label. They were picked up courtesy of Wind-up Records
president Ed Vetri, who offered the band a deal that gave Wind-up the rights to collect revenue from album sales, merchandise and touring.
Wind-up opted to sanction the band an extended period of time to record the album, since their previous works had been completed in less than a month. Thus, the band was in the studio for about a year. Lead singer Will Pugh praised the further time they were given, "They put us in their studio, gave us the time and allowed us to produce our own record. Listening to the record now, it's the most focused, well-organized and best representation of our band that we've had so far."
, MySpace
and Facebook
. Through these social networking sites they have also offered giveaways and webisodes. As they approached the completion of recording they did a short tour with contemporaries All Time Low
and We the Kings
. "Let's Go" was announced as the first single from the album, released digitally on July 28, 2009. The song's music video was premiered on Buzznet
on October 13, 2009. Close to 200 fans were invited to be extras at the shoot, 80 were given hand-held video cameras to record their view of the band's performance in an abandoned warehouse. The fan-footage was then edited together along with the official footage to create the video.
A pre-order of Cycles on the iTunes Store
offered a bonus track titled "In No Hurry" and the buyer received an instant download of "The Perfect Mistake". Another pre-order offer included an autographed booklet and exclusive t-shirt. A stream of Cycles was made available online on October 13, with the condition that the listener must first tweet
about the album. The album's release date was originally set for October 27, but was brought forward a week to ultimately be released on October 20, 2009.
The band is set to tour in support of Cycles with This Providence
, The Summer Set
, Bigger Lights and The Dares
. An appearance on Fearless TV was also set for October 26. The album debuted at number 59 on the Billboard 200
chart, number 25 on the Billboard Rock Albums
chart and number 17 on the Alternative Albums chart. At the end of 2009, the band was featured on the cover of the Alternative Press 2009 end of year review edition.
The album's second single, "The Perfect Mistake", was released to radio in February 2010.
The album's third single, "Faster Ride", was released to radio in August 2010http://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Cartel
Cartel (band)
Cartel is a American pop rock band from Conyers, Georgia that formed in 2003. The band is best known for their single "Honestly", featured on their 2005 debut album Chroma, and for their 2007 appearance on MTV's Band in a Bubble....
, released through Wind-up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
on October 20, 2009.
Background and production
After solid sales with their debut, Cartel's decision to record their second album on the MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
program Band in a Bubble
Band in a Bubble
Band in a Bubble was a TV show that consists of round-the-clock live broadcasting, during which a band spends an extended period of time inside a "bubble," writing and recording an album. The Band in a Bubble concept was created by Paul Curtis, a band manager, tour promoter, owner of Valve...
in 2007 proved costly. Their self-titled
Cartel (album)
-Reception:The album received mixed reviews by critics, most saying the album was rushed, undefined, and unemotional.-Credits:* Nic Hudson – guitar* Joseph Pepper – guitar* Will Pugh – vocals, guitar, piano, programming* Jeff Lett – bass, Backing Vocals...
follow up effort sold less than half the records of their debut, Chroma
Chroma
Chroma, the Greek word for color, may refer to:* Colorfulness or chroma, the perceived intensity of a specific color* Chrominance or chroma, one of the two components of a television signal* Chroma, a measure of color purity in the Munsell color system...
. Cartel was consequently released from its contract with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
and left to find a new label. They were picked up courtesy of Wind-up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
president Ed Vetri, who offered the band a deal that gave Wind-up the rights to collect revenue from album sales, merchandise and touring.
Wind-up opted to sanction the band an extended period of time to record the album, since their previous works had been completed in less than a month. Thus, the band was in the studio for about a year. Lead singer Will Pugh praised the further time they were given, "They put us in their studio, gave us the time and allowed us to produce our own record. Listening to the record now, it's the most focused, well-organized and best representation of our band that we've had so far."
Promotion and release
Throughout the studio process, Cartel connected with fans by posting on TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. Through these social networking sites they have also offered giveaways and webisodes. As they approached the completion of recording they did a short tour with contemporaries All Time Low
All Time Low
All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003.The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and backing vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson...
and We the Kings
We the Kings
We the Kings is an American powerpop band formed in 2005 from Bradenton, Florida, currently signed to record label S-Curve Records. The group released their self-titled full-length debut album in 2007, which peaked at No. 151 on the Billboard 200. Their second full-length album, Smile Kid, was...
. "Let's Go" was announced as the first single from the album, released digitally on July 28, 2009. The song's music video was premiered on Buzznet
Buzznet
BuzzNet is a photo, journal, and video-sharing social media network, owned by Buzz Media. Like other social networking sites, Buzznet is a platform for members to share content based on their personal interests...
on October 13, 2009. Close to 200 fans were invited to be extras at the shoot, 80 were given hand-held video cameras to record their view of the band's performance in an abandoned warehouse. The fan-footage was then edited together along with the official footage to create the video.
A pre-order of Cycles on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
offered a bonus track titled "In No Hurry" and the buyer received an instant download of "The Perfect Mistake". Another pre-order offer included an autographed booklet and exclusive t-shirt. A stream of Cycles was made available online on October 13, with the condition that the listener must first tweet
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
about the album. The album's release date was originally set for October 27, but was brought forward a week to ultimately be released on October 20, 2009.
The band is set to tour in support of Cycles with This Providence
This Providence
This Providence is a four-piece Alternative Rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Dan Young , David Blaise , Gavin Phillips , and Andy Horst .-Formation and early history:...
, The Summer Set
The Summer Set
The Summer Set are a pop-punk band from Scottsdale, Arizona.-History:After a few years of playing music together, Jess Bowen and brothers John and Stephen Gomez, set out in the fall of 2007 to form The Summer Set with newfound vocalist Brian Dales. Jess, John, and Stephen played in a previous band...
, Bigger Lights and The Dares
The Dares
The Dares were formed by twin brothers Ben Peterson and Matt Peterson . For six years The Dares performed as a trio with Martin Lascano who left the band in April 2010...
. An appearance on Fearless TV was also set for October 26. The album debuted at number 59 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, number 25 on the Billboard Rock Albums
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
chart and number 17 on the Alternative Albums chart. At the end of 2009, the band was featured on the cover of the Alternative Press 2009 end of year review edition.
The album's second single, "The Perfect Mistake", was released to radio in February 2010.
The album's third single, "Faster Ride", was released to radio in August 2010http://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases