Complete Studio Recordings

1993年に結成、2005年に解散となったボストンの伝説的EMO/ポスト・ハードコアバンドKARATEが発表したアルバム/EP/シングル/SPLITをまとめたCD8枚組がNumero Groupよりリリース。

1995年作アルバム「KARATE」、1997年作アルバム「IN PLACE OF REAL INSIGHT」、1998年作アルバム「THE BED IS IN THE OCEAN」、2000年作アルバム「UNSOLVED」、2002年作アルバム「SOME BOOTS」、2004年作アルバム「POCKETS」、さらに2001年作EP「CANCEL/SING」と2005年作EP「IN THE FISH TANK」に加え、シングル、SPLIT等、全69曲を収録。Leor Galilによるキャリアを網羅したエッセイと80ページに及ぶ写真集付き。

New England band Karate quickly grew out of their post-hardcore roots, starting out as a technically precise slowcore group with emo tendencies for a few albums before dramatically shifting gears to include a heavy jazz influence in their composition and overall sound. Complete Studio Recordings thoroughly tracks the bands evolution through the mid-90s to their initial breakup in the early 2000s, including their six studio albums but also songs from singles and EPs from the same time. Listening chronologically highlights the various shifts the band went through, from the moody, introverted perspectives and ultra-clean guitar lines of their self-titled 1995 debut to more eruptive, Fugazi-influenced moments on 1998s In Place of Real Insight, and the way the group dipped their toes into more complex jazz chord voicings and expanded song structures on 1998s The Bed Is in the Ocean before embracing these elements increasingly on subsequent efforts like 2000s Unsolved or 2004s Pockets. Complete Studio Recordings connects the dots somewhat with the inclusion of non-album tracks from most of Karates phases. This is where some of the bands more interesting auxiliary material happens, like the aching but aggressive slow punk of "Cherry Coke" from a 1996 split 7" with the Crownhate Ruin or the two extended pieces that made up their improvisatory 2001 EP Cancel/Sing. The 69-track collection follows the band all the way to their 2005 entry to the In the Fishtank series, a rather creatively restless effort made up primarily of Minutemen covers, but also tackling Bob Dylans "Tears of Rage" and offering a gorgeous take on "A New Jerusalem" from Talk Talk vocalist Mark Hollis self-titled 1998 solo album. Moving through Karates entire time line reinforces how peerless they were in terms of their curious genre patchwork, but it also serves as a reminder of the ways they maintained their core songwriting voice as their delivery rapidly changed. ~ Fred Thomas