18 September 2026 (album; the first two songs were shared at the announcement in late July 2026)
Cartel Return With First Album in 13 Years, Learning How To Cope
Cartel are back. The Atlanta, Georgia band have announced Learning How To Cope, their first full-length album since 2013, and it is due on 18 September 2026 via Field Day Records. Melodic Magazine counts it as their fifth studio album, and the announcement came in late July 2026 with two new songs to go with it.
Those songs are "Deadbeat Drag", which Rock Sound describes as damning storytelling, and "Shirts & Skins", a heavy pop-punk track about the state of things on the streets. According to Rock Sound, "Shirts & Skins" was written in the wake of the ICE raids in Minneapolis, so this is a noticeably more political Cartel than the one fans remember from the 2000s.
Music that saved a life
Vocalist Will Pugh has talked openly about what the record means to him. He told Melodic Magazine that the music on the record saved his life. In the Rock Sound piece he describes the album as built on honesty, openness and looking after your people, and says it feels different but still like Cartel. He also made clear that the band can no longer just be a safe space to escape from everything, and that hard conversations have to happen now.
On the road with State Champs
Cartel are also supporting State Champs across the US. The run covers a long list of cities in November, including Allentown, Buffalo, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle and Denver, and wraps up in December with dates in Richmond, Nashville, St. Petersburg and Orlando. A full tracklist was not part of the announcement coverage we could check.