{"title":"Karate","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKarate was an American indie\/jazz band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1993. The band consisted of Geoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt, Gavin McCarthy, and later Jeff Goddard. With their unique blend of genres, Karate gained recognition in the music industry. Unfortunately, due to hearing problems faced by Farina after twelve years of performing with the band, Karate disbanded in July 2005.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt, and Gavin McCarthy founded Karate in 1993 as an indie\/jazz band based out of Boston. In 1995, Jeff Goddard joined as the bass player while Vitt transitioned to second guitar. Their fusion of musical styles set them apart from other bands and earned them a dedicated following.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1997, Vitt made the difficult decision to leave Karate and pursue a career in medicine. Despite this setback, the remaining members continued to create captivating music that resonated with fans worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"complete-studio-recordings-5","title":"Complete Studio Recordings","description":"\u003cp\u003eCrashing at the unlikely intersection of post-hardcore, slowcore, and jazz-rock, Karate spent a dozen years producing peerless recordings in their adopted hometown of Boston. Collected here are their six albums—S\/T, In Place of Real Insight, The Bed Is In The Ocean, Unsolved, Some Boots, Pockets, plus the Cancel\/Sing and In The Fish Tank EPs, singles, and split 7”s, a whopping 69 tracks spread across eight glorious compact discs. Leor Galil’s career-spanning essay is illustrated with dozens of period-appropriate photos in the accompanying 80-page book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"CDx8","offer_id":50393806504267,"sku":"2051058","price":79.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/NUM215CD_Sliipcase_1_8940a1c5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726427680"},{"product_id":"some-boots","title":"Some Boots","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn 2002’s \u003ci\u003eSome Boots\u003c\/i\u003e, Boston indie rock trio Karate further plumb the depths of their omnidirectional musical explorations. Every chord and beat works to deepen the pensiveness of Geoff Farina’s impressionistic lyrics, that explore the emotional complexities of nostalgia. The eight-song LP is housed in a tip-on jacket, and includes a replica lyric sheet for the original kids and spies alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50396561015115,"sku":"2167749","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Grey LP","offer_id":50396563374411,"sku":"2169103","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Some_Boots_4a582963_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726483320"},{"product_id":"unsolved","title":"Unsolved","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs Warped Tour pop-punk and American Apparel indie rock dominated the strange post-Y2K guitar-band milieu, Boston’s Karate delivered an engrossing shot of rock that constantly shifted between several shades of subterranean sounds. The quiet moments on Karate’s millennium busting fourth album carry much of that old, unbridled intensity, braided into subdued jazz melodies and slowcore restraint. Karate’s transition into rock maturity bore supple fruit with \u003ci\u003eUnsolved\u003c\/i\u003e, presented here with three previously unreleased songs.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"2LP - Black","offer_id":50425190449483,"sku":"2015123","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Tape","offer_id":50425192874315,"sku":"2015132","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"2LP - Angels Halo","offer_id":50425191891275,"sku":"2015129","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":58137047236939,"sku":"R5949-1587","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/NUM215.2LP_LP1-2_GatefoldJacket_1024x10242x_4a53f554_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726787801"},{"product_id":"make-it-fit","title":"Make It Fit","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first new music from the post-\nemo trio in two decades. Out of the\nbrain of Geoff Farina spills 10 new\ntales from their unlikely reunion,\ntracked with long-time Karate\ncollaborator Andy Hong.\u003ci\u003e Make It Fit\n\u003c\/i\u003ecrams 35 minutes of Wes Montgomery\nhomage, Fugazi dub plate party\nrocking, Lynott lyricism, and Clash\ncity crooning into a graceful seventh\nalbum.\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50446235959627,"sku":"2212653","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Clear LP","offer_id":50446237630795,"sku":"2212656","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Tape","offer_id":50446236680523,"sku":"2212654","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50446237139275,"sku":"2212655","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/NUM305_1d0c66f5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727055181"},{"product_id":"in-place-of-real-insight","title":"In Place of Real Insight","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Great Alternative Boom of the early '90s had begun to wither on corporate FM barely halfway through the decade, but the ever-changing underground had almost entirely regenerated after two major-label thrifting trips. In the ever-in-flux city of Boston, Karate positioned themselves as a crucial tendril in a sprawling nationwide community. They did so largely by refusing to stick to any single formula from the myriad of styles at their root - slowcore, post-hardcore, and jazz. As if to make a point, Karate's lineup went through its own shift too. In the lead up to 1997's \u003ci\u003eIn Place of Real Insight\u003c\/i\u003e, Eamonn Vitt took up the guitar, and Karate compatriot Jeff Goddard entered the fold to become the band's bassist. Armed with two guitarists, the band got significantly louder, and they smeared punk fury all over their second LP. At its most intense moments,\u003ci\u003e In Place of Real Insight \u003c\/i\u003ebestows the kind of rowdiness that elevated hardcore base buried deep within the unconscious of their music - it comes out most vividly when Geoff Farina and Vitt trade throat-searing shouts and bite-sized barks on \"New Martini.\" So many lesser bands with two guitarists and a copy of In on the Kill Taker at their disposal felt the need to try their hand at being Fugazi, Karate evaded such pratfalls, though Goddard's compact, quicksilver basswork and Gavin McCarthy's fractured drumming on the bridge for \"New New\" contain the same rhythmic electricity that the D.C. legends wielded so well. For the most part, Karate used their larger palette to intensify their already alluring musical sensibilities. Farina and Vitt's gentle guitars nearly mirror each other as they carry the drawn-out tension of \"The New Hangout Condition\" to its equanimous conclusion, though Karate wouldn't hold that mood for long; they made quick work of disrupting such peacefulness with the needling disquiet that opens \"On Cutting,\" a rare track that cast a spotlight on Vitt's understated vocals. Karate emboldened the quiet moments of \u003ci\u003eIn Place of Real Insight\u003c\/i\u003e with the same forcefulness of its archly punk cuts, effectively allowing the tenderness that blankets \"Today Or Tomorrow\" to coexist alongside their rough-hewn material. Karate made sense of seemingly polarizing styles, and\u003ci\u003e In Place of Real Insight\u003c\/i\u003e is arguably their best album because they allowed such disparate parts to co-mingle. In a subversive music community oscillating between radical polemics and hair-splitting musical orthodoxy, Karate were a question mark that exhibited the scene's best instincts, because they sounded like few others. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50468403511627,"sku":"1130413","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b0b2f9eb-a9ff-4a06-8298-975d57c5bd3e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727347721"},{"product_id":"the-bed-is-in-the-ocean","title":"The Bed Is In The Ocean","description":"\u003cp\u003eA lingering guitar note. A cushion of a bassline nudging along a hushed cadence unspooling impressionistic poeticism one halting line at a time; the sparse snap of a snare providing punctuation. This is how Boston’s \u003cstrong\u003eKarate\u003c\/strong\u003e opened their third full-length, 1998’s \u003cem\u003eThe Bed Is In The Ocean\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps this was a reaction to the aggressive punk tones that marked their previous album, or maybe they hoped to capture the somnambulant dusk on one of those pristine fall days that make living in a town whose population swells when colleges welcome back students all worthwhile. Then again, Karate never made a point of chasing the same idea twice, and \"\u003cem\u003eThere Are Ghosts\u003c\/em\u003e\" remains in line with the band’s stylistic intrepidness and unpredictability.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEven the group’s lineup appeared constantly in flux. After expanding from a trio to a quartet and employing a dual-guitar attack with 1997’s \u003cem\u003eIn Place of Real Insight\u003c\/em\u003e, founding member Eamonn Vitt hung up his axe to attend medical school. Karate soldiered on as a trio, with mid-stream addition Jeff Goddard’s bass work helping establish a sidewinding path forward through the smoky jazz melodicism and sun-beaten blues brushstrokes that hung in the background of the band’s catalog.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn their short time together, Karate helped bolster the national punk ecosystem, a scene in which individual artistic vision was prized but rarely achieved. Their exacting precision and emotive interplay helped recombine the DNA of the dignified grace of slowcore, the hot-and-sweaty atmospherics of the blues, and the high-wire tension of post-hardcore to deliver drawling instrumental curveballs and a furtive riptide climax with a controlled grace on \"\u003cem\u003eOutside Is The Drama\u003c\/em\u003e\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSinger-guitarist Geoff Farina frequently teased out the emotional nuances of each song, his worn-in voice shading in the complexities of his enigmatic lyrics; no matter how difficult it may be to parse his snatched-from-daily-life wisdoms, on \u003cem\u003eThe Bed Is In The Ocean\u003c\/em\u003e Farina sounded like a guy who knew exactly the right thing to tell whoever may be listening. And with Karate’s snaking turns through quasi-punk reveries no one else appeared capable of mustering, it’s comforting to hear it accomplished by a band that knew exactly what they were doing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50479109767499,"sku":"1145184","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50479109996875,"sku":"1142281","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50479110390091,"sku":"1145185","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0d168365-474d-4c02-8d88-ec00dbce5058_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727501037"},{"product_id":"time-expired","title":"Time Expired","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt the turn of the century and after three albums, Karate’s tenure within the insular east coast indie rock scene had expired, but the band was just getting started. Collected here is the band’s spacious, adventurous, and sometimes difficult second half presented in fastidious detail. This five LP box includes the trio’s \u003ci\u003eUnsolved, Some Boots\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePockets \u003c\/i\u003ealbums, a first time vinyl pressing of their \u003ci\u003eCancel\/Sing\u003c\/i\u003e EP, and recently unearthed rehearsal recordings of two unreleased tracks, all annotated by Geoff Farina’s account of Karate’s adulthood and Andy Hong’s insights into the trio’s recording process.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"Green | LP | x5","offer_id":50504725365067,"sku":"1160146","price":129.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2ef2e5c8-058c-4dfd-869e-fc0f3a03d549_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727809734"},{"product_id":"unsolved-y2k-25th-anniversary-edition","title":"Unsolved (Y2K 25th Anniversary Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs Warped Tour pop-punk and American Apparel indie rock dominated the strange post-Y2Kguitar-band milieu, Boston’s Karate delivered an engrossing shot of rock that constantly shifted between several shades of subterranean sounds. The quiet moments on Karate’s millennium busting fourth album carry much of that old, unbridled intensity, braided into subdued jazz melodies and slowcore restraint. This 25th anniversary edition of Unsolved replicates the original 2000 pressing’s side D, and includes the Death Kit 7” and split with Crown Hate Ruin. God forgive us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"2LP - Black","offer_id":51245521862987,"sku":"2243359","price":36.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2LP - Cherrie Coke","offer_id":51245522223435,"sku":"2243361","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ba35b8c4-a8fb-1f29-f520-a04e39e6fb53_e1bb223f_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1739224596"},{"product_id":"if-you-can-hold-your-breath","title":"If You Can Hold Your Breath","description":"\u003cp\u003eKarate’s first five years, boxed in classic Numero fashion and annotated by frontman Geoff Farina. Collaging DC posthardcore, De Stijl, and Django Reinhardt, this five LP set includes their self-titled debut, \u003cem\u003eIn Place of Real Insight, The Bed Is In The Ocean\u003c\/em\u003e, period 7”s, and previously unissued 1993 demo. 41 late millennium accounts of 2AM bike rides, punk house floors, skinny dipping, regrettable tattoos, and Interstate 95 commuting, all remastered from the original tapes and housed in sturdy tip-on sleeves for the discerning Karate enthusiast. Don’t drown.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"5LP - Black","offer_id":52592915939659,"sku":"R5854-1367","price":89.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"5LP - Ultra Clear","offer_id":53128745550155,"sku":"R5854-7171","price":94.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Karate-IfYouCanHoldYourBreath.jpg?v=1751295551"},{"product_id":"pockets","title":"Pockets","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKarate’s defiant and final studio album punctuates a 12-year discography that spanned harDCore-style catharsis to feedback-saturated improv. This ’04 classic skipped the Friendster migration for back-to-basics songwriting suffused with jazz phrasings and beat-inspired lyricism. Featuring Codeine\/Come guitarist Chris Brokaw, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePockets\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is remastered from the original analog tapes and housed in a deluxe tip on sleeve with reproduction lyric sheet.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Numero","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":56425587147083,"sku":"R4288-0483","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Opaque Grey","offer_id":56479777718603,"sku":"R4288-6913","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/66a77602-f73b-a4ff-6c82-ded8f16bca31.jpg?v=1769776422"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_2ab54eb0_thumbnail_4096_12a85aa5-4fc6-451b-84dc-7144739f17e6.jpg?v=1726427660","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/karate.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}