CARTEL didn’t come back just to look backward. Yes, the Conyers, GA-formed trio have spent much of the last year and a half criss-crossing the globe for the 20th anniversary of Chroma, their landmark debut album that won the hearts and iPods of millions and earned them a gold record for the breakout single “Honestly,” but their second act was never meant to stop at nostalgia. Rather than bask in the glow of the past, the group – vocalist Will Pugh and guitarists Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson – have used it to light the fuse on their future.

That intent comes into focus on LP5, their first album in 13 years and a definitive statement of who Cartel is now. Written against a backdrop of both personal reckoning and global unrest, the album – produced by Pugh, featuring drums from Atom Willard and released via Field Day Records – pairs the hook-driven songwriting the group has always been known for with sharper edges, heavier weight and a renewed sense of purpose.

“I had this epiphany where I realized I’d attached a lot of my self-worth to whether the band was successful,” Pugh says, noting he had, over the years, stepped away from music full-time to pursue a career in golf, his other passion. “I spent a long time being pretty jaded, but when I let go of that mindset, it became clear what actually made me happy. We still have an opportunity to do this and people still care, and that mattered enough for me to go all-in again.”

The speed and clarity of what came next surprised even him, fueled by the conviction that he no longer needed permission to say what he felt. Pugh describes the songwriting process for LP5 as less deliberation and more divine intervention, with songs arriving more fully formed than ever before. “I didn’t consciously create this,” he explains. “I made myself available. I showed up, put a guitar in my hands and let it happen.”

“This music saved me,” Pugh says. “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.”