Waterloo Records

Lassoing together white-knuckle post- hardcore tension, sharply focused slowcore serenity, and resplendent jazz complexity, Karate eschewed settling in any one definable style. On their self- titled 1996 debut, Geoff Farina abandons his warm, hushed cadences for a hoarse shout, intensifying an aggression that burst out with every snaggletoothed guitar riff, Eamonn Vitt bass warble, or Gavin McCarthy drum snap that went off like cannon fire. Karate formally introduced the trio as a vital part of an independent U.S. punk scene stubbornly flowering in the face of the ’90s major label harvest.