Cartel Sound: A hooky mix of emocore and power pop - in other words, 2000s pop-punk, with memorable choruses and uplifting lyrics.

Claim to fame: Cartel generated a healthy Internet buzz in 2005, earning a spot on Alternative Press's list of "Bands You Need to Know." It also won Yahoo's "Who's Next" talent competition in early 2006, which led to a major label record contract

later that year.

Latest effort: "Cycles" (2009) is its latest and first for post-grunge label Wind-Up records, the people responsible for Creed and Evanescence.

If one song could make you love this artist, it would be: "Let's Go." The lead single from "Cycles" is an uplifting blast of anthemic power-pop that shows Cartel absorbing the positive post-grunge vibes of its Wind-Up Records cohorts.

For fans of: Jimmy Eat World, Hawthorne Heights

, All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy.

Trivia: In 2007, Cartel was featured in the MTV and Dr Pepper Web reality series "Band in the Bubble." From May 23 to June 7, 2007, they were filmed 24/7 living and working on their self-titled second album in a giant bubble set up at Pier 54 on the Hudson River in New York City.