As with a lot of the CD’s I get sent to review, Cartel were one of the bands that I’d never heard of before I received “Chroma” and I have to say that there aren’t many bands I’ve ever heard before that have made as much of an impact as Cartel have. This is Cartel’s debut album although a few of you may have heard their previous EP, this album is being released by The Militia Group and was recorded at the legendary Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta which has seen the likes of Jimmy Eat World & Outkast record there in the past so will Cartel be able to live up to that reputation.
Straight from the get go this is an amazing album. The first track ‘Say Anything (Else)’ is Pop-Punk at it’s best and the best possible way to kick off a debut record. All the essential elements are there, sweet vocals, catchy melodies, the odd killer guitar riff, etc, etc. So many of the songs on this album which get stuck in your head and you’ll find yourself singing them for the rest of the day until you can finally get home and stick the CD back on again. Songs like ‘Honestly’ and ‘Runaway’ are catchy as hell while ‘Matter Of Time’ is a beautifully melodic little number.
My favourite song though is ‘Burn This City’ which is simply amazing and is so good that I now have it as my ring tone on my mobile phone. The chorus is awesome, the guitar riff midway through the song is awesome and the group vocals at the end of the song are even better. Even after that there’s more to come in the shape of the fast and furious ‘Luckie St’, the gorgeous ‘If I Fail’ and the epic ‘The Minstrel’s Prayer’. Even the 9-minute finale track ‘A’ (which I think stands for Answer) still leaves you begging for more.
There is no doubt in my mind that if Cartel were signed to a major label then they would soon have their faces all over MTV and being scouted as the next big thing & could even follow the likes of Yellowcard & Fall Out Boy in picking up a VMA. Although I doubt a major label would have given Cartel as much time and space as The Militia Group to produce an album of this magnitude. There are so many bands who do this kind of music in a frankly boring and impassionate manner but when bands like Cartel come along, they remind you of how amazing this genre of music can be. The more I listen to “Chroma”, the more I love it. This is a Pop-Punk classic and definitely one of the albums of the year.
Cartel's debut album "Chroma" is Out Now. To find out more about Cartel - Click Here |
