Karate - Make it Fit (Bleach the Scene Vinyl)

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. Longtime 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. 
 
The band re-emerges in autumn 2024 with Make It Fit, its first new studio record since 2004's Pockets. The first new music from the post-emo trio in two decades. Out of the brain of Geoff Farina spills 10 new tales from their unlikely reunion, tracked with long-time Karate collaborator Andy Hong. Make It Fit crams 35 minutes of Wes Montgomery homage, Fugazi dub plate party rocking, Lynott lyricism, and Clash city crooning into a graceful seventh album.

But one can also hear how time has wisened the composers. The songs on Make it Fit know where they are going, five of its concise, jazzy, punky tracks come in around 2:30. Farina spent time in the intervening years listening to American roots rock, jazz, and blues and he's not shy about deploying his own takes here.
 
Make It Fit is the opposite of a cynical cash-in. It's daring, requiring a full commitment from band and audience. And Karate's reunion is soaking in gratitude. This time around, Farina says he appreciates it all more. "I appreciate that I'm playing a show. I used to get up on stage and be annoyed at this and be annoyed at that. Now I get up on stage and feel incredibly lucky. Just being able to do it again is so much fun. Just hearing us together on stage feels so right."