Fire Track: Karate – “Defendants”

The reunited Karate announce Make It Fit, their much-anticipated first studio album in 20 years. Coming October 18th on Numero Group, and featuring ten new tracks mixed by long time collaborator Andy Hong.

Formed in Boston in 1993 by Geoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt and Gavin McCarthy, Karate added Jeff Goddard on bass in 1995. The band released six studio albums, two EPs, numerous singles, and split 7”s between 1994 and 2005. From punk roots, the band ventured widely – veering into jazz-rock, post-rock and a unique version of slowcore in its progressive indie experimentation.

Vitt left for med school in 97 and Farina called the band quits in 2005 because of hearing issues.

Something happened in the meantime. The band’s albums on Southern Records went out of print. And the label’s founder John Loder passed in 2005, complicating things. In 2020, a Chicago Reader article noticed Karate’s albums were fetching rare vinyl prices online. Long-time fans the Numero Group stepped in and offered to help the band get its albums back – literally sending a van to the North of England to pick up Karate’s master tapes.

Karate reunited in 2022 to support the re-release of its music on Numero Group. Time Expired, a 5-LP set, focused on the trio’s later albums and EPs. The Complete Studio Recordings released in 2023, gathered all six studio albums, singles, and compilation tracks in a deluxe CD set.

While a box set might be a nice way to tie a bow on a band story and move on, the men in Karate discovered they had more to say. Make It Fit is available to pre-order now on CD, cassette and limited edition blonde coloured LP, “Bleach The Scene” edition crystal clear LP and a standard black LP.