Karate

What can I say, everyone remembers this band by the bands s/t. Its pretty legit from the bands death kit 7" It is slightly better than the bands next 3 albums (Until Cancel/Sing makes up for it)

id have to say karate is one if not the best band i have listend to ,especially this thier debut album. its a little harder than thier newer ones but if you are looking for a band that translates thier emotions through thier instruments this is the one. hands down a strieght forward and great album!

Never knew about Karate until I saw them open (for a band I can't even remember) in a small club in the basement of a small japanese food restaurant in a small city about three years ago. Made my boyfriend go buy this CD from their small card table. Fanstastic live performance, groovable recording -- I love this band. Lead singer has a normal *human* voice that kind of floats on top of, rather than blending with, the music. Really good effect.

With emo being the big buzz word in the music industry these days, I'm suprised Karate hasn't hit something big yet. Wait scratch that, I'm not suprised. Karate has nothing to offer to popular music fans(lacking catchy riffs and blatatant lyrics). No, if Karate is like any band around today, they would be closest to And You'll Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Except Karate has been around longer and I like Karate more(this is not to underscore Trail, because I've grown fond of them as well).The one thing that struck me first while listening to this CD(and all subsequent CD of their's) is the general high quality of musicianship on this CD. Everyone plays with an intense understanding of their instruments(bass, guitar, drums, and vocals too). Intense is also a good noun to discribe this album. Sure, it plays to the same soft/loud dynamic that most bands of this ilk do, but Karate manages to do it with more potentcy emotion than most "emo" bands. Lyrically, its opaque and certainly a bit hard to discifer but certainly that part of the reason this CD demands to be listened to repeatedly. It sheds a new layer every time you listen to it.While its not their best or most focused album(my favorite is Unsolved or Bed Is In The Ocean), they have yet to release an album with the emotional intensity and liveliness of their stunning debut. Indie rock fans will devour this.

I used to listen to this albun a coupple years ago and always liked it. I finally bought it again and I am sooo glad I did. It's good music for road trips and rocking out to. I definitely recommend buying it.