Cartel announces new album, bands first full length since 2023

Newly returned alt favorites Cartel have announced the bands first full length album since 2013. ‘Learning How To Cope’ will release Sept. 18th on Field Day Records. The band will also be hitting the road this fall alongside State Champs and Taylor Acorn.

Pugh shares: “This music saved me. It helped me reconnect with empathy, with community and with the idea that everybody belongs. That ethos – honesty, openness, and taking care of your people – is what this record is built on. It feels different, but it still feels like Cartel.”

Along with the album announcement comes new singles “Deadbeat Drag” and “Shirts & Skins”, a musical Molotov cocktail the group previously unveiled in the wake of Minneapolis ICE murders. Stream the new tracks now here.

“We’re way past the point of being able to sit back and just provide the safe space that people can go and get away from everything,” Pugh says, referencing “Shirts & Skins“. “Society has been doing that long enough and not having difficult conversations – and that’s just kind of over. If you’re not going to say something now, when are you ever going to fucking say something?”

Upcoming Festival Appearances

August 22 – Montreal, QC – Vans Warped Tour Montreal

August 29 – Boston, MA – Soundtrack of Your Summer Festival (w/ Boys Like Girls)

September 18 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees

September 18 – Atlanta, GA – Album Release show at Masquerade (Purgatory) **

September 20 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest

September 26 – Pittsburgh, PA – Four Chord Festival

October 10 – Birmingham, AL – Furnace Fest

** – Indicates headline show

Upcoming Tour Dates w/State Champs:

November 5 – Allentown, PA – Archer Music Hall

November 6 – Buffalo, NY – Riverworks

November 7 – Indianapolis, IN – Deluxe @ Old National Centre

November 8 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant

November 10 – Dallas, TX – Echo Lounge

November 12 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren

November 13 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl

November 14 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium

November 15 – Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades

November 17 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater

November 18 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox

November 20 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at The Complex

November 21 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall

November 23 – Davenport, IA – Capitol Theatre

November 24 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom

November 25 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall

November 27 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

November 29 – Baltimore, MD – Nevermore Hall

December 1 – Richmond, VA – The National

December 3 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl

December 5 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live

December 6 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues