Cartel get introspective in their "Uninspired" lyric video.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed. Some may call it uninspired," sings Cartel's Will Pugh in the strident opening bars of "Uninspired," the lead song from their recently released Collider album. "But what is there left to do when someone's so young and admired?" It's just one of the many conflicted questions prompted by the introspective song that will feel particularly familiar to anyone who's been on the roller coaster of ups and downs in the music biz, or just those of us who've watched our favorite bands go through it from afar.

Watch Cartel's "Uninspired" lyric video after the jump.

As we learned a couple months ago when the band was explaining the process of recording the album, one that seemed unlikely to coalesce for a while, struggling with the idea of being uninspired was one of the hurdles they faced. Of course, sometimes inspiration comes from unexpected places.

"What's the point of it all, to come apart at the seams, if I'm never gonna be around to witness the dawn of my dreams?" Pugh goes on in the mid-tempo anthem over grinding guitars and big open chords. Well, the point, it turns out, is that sometimes that sort of internal struggle ends up fueling some of your best work. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

One of the biggest obstacles in the way, and one that they're likely referring to in the song here, is recording and releasing the album on their own without the aid of a big label. (The album is available for purchase at the District Lines web store now). That means, in order for the song, and the record, the gain traction, they need a little boost from the fans, Pugh explained in an interview with Absolute Punk.

"When you release a record without a label you automatically make certain conciliations," he said. "We're not going to have retail distribution. We're not going to have every outlet available to us that we would had we released this on a label. That being said, it's really about energizing our fan base. Our fans have stuck with us through all the bullshit and have spread the word about this album to a level that I couldn't have anticipated a few months ago. I'm truly humbled and honored to have the fans that we do. I see on our social media sites all the time that we're 'underrated' and 'people need to hear this.' That's a big deal to me. Whether or not it's true, to have people taking the time to write that and stick their necks out for us is awe inspiring."

Sounds like he's not so uninspired anymore. Good work, Cartel fans. But now what's he going to write about for the next album?

+ Watch Cartel's "Uninspired" lyric video.

Photo credit: Patrick Tracy