Jazzy post-hardcore/post-rock/emo/indie vets Karate reunited for their first shows in 17 years in 2022, and now they’ve announced their first new album in 20 years, Make It Fit, due October 18 via Numero Group (pre-order). In the time since 2004’s Pockets, Geoff Farina, Jeff Goddard, and Gavin McCarthy have played in a variety of different projects, the Boston-bred band members no longer live in the same city, and much of the new album was written remotely and is said to reflect who the band is today. Here’s some more background via press release:
While Karate’s reunion tours have been remarkably smooth, making an album presented some challenges. By the time the group arrived in Nashville, TN in January 2024 to track the album with longtime collaborator Andy Hong, the trio had demoed the songs a few times and felt confident. That initial optimism was dampened, and anxiety amplified when the trio remembered a detail: Hong was still building his studio.
Much of Hong’s recording gear was packed in shrink-wrap. He’d need time to get the studio up and running. And Karate’s members had a day to stress and wonder if they’d hit a concrete barrier on reunion road.
“Why don’t we ever record in a fancy studio where everything is ready to go when we arrive, and we have two weeks to record ten songs? We don’t seem to ever do that,” Farina notes. “That would be too easy,” replies McCarthy, “Plus Andy works at a higher level. This is normal to him.”
The band kept its faith in Hong. In 24 hours, he had completely wired the new studio, and the four soon fell into a familiar and comfortable routine they had practiced on their better-known records. Karate completed basic tracks in Nashville. Farina added guitars and vocals back at his home studio and the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago. And Hong mixed the album.
Along with the announcement comes two new singles, “Defendants” and “Silence, Sound,” which are also the album’s opening and closing tracks, respectively. The latter is a jazzy indie rock that sounds like a new spin on classic Karate, while the former is a propulsive rock anthem that–call me crazy, but–kinda sounds like Karate’s take on a Thin Lizzy song. Both find the band in fine form, as you can hear for yourself below.
Karate are playing Las Vegas’ new emo-centric festival Best Friends Forever in October, and they also have upcoming international dates. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
Defendants
Bleach The Scene
Cannibals
Liminal
Rattle the Pipes
Fall to Grace
Around The Dial
People Ain’t Folk
Three Dollar Bill
Silence, Sound
Karate — 2024 Tour Dates
AUGUST
18: Cine Joia, Sao Paulo, Brazil
OCTOBER
12th – Best Friends Forever Festival, Las Vegas, USA
DECEMBER
11th – Reykjanesbær, Hljómahöll, Iceland
13th – Kortrijk, Wilde Westen, Belgium
14th – Antwerp, Trix, Belgium
16th – Bristol, The Fleece, UK
17th – Nottingham, The Rescue Rooms, UK
18th – Glasgow, King Tut’s, UK
19th – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club, UK
20th – London, The Garage, UK