Breaking out in the mid-aughts, CARTEL artfully threaded the space between the turnof-the-millennium pop-punk tidal wave and the widespread virality of the social media generation, cutting their blend of hyper-melodic pop-rock with reflective lyricism and ambitious sonic versatility. 

The Conyers, GA-based group quickly rose through the underground on the back of their 2005 breakthrough LP, Chroma, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, bore the Gold-certified hit “Honestly” and launched the childhood friends – vocalist/guitarist Will Pugh and guitarists Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson – onto Warped Tour, TRL, Epic Records and millions of MySpace Top 8s. 

Nearly two decades and more than 250,000 copies later, the album still resonates as a genre hallmark, hailed as one of the greatest pop-punk records of all time by Rock Sound and Loudwire and a singalong staple at emo nights around the world. But while the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of their debut took them from regional buzz band to mainstream names to know, it’s their insatiable desire to never settle that’s kept them one of the most respected acts in the genre to this day.