Karate

On Karate's their third full-length, 1998's 'The Bed Is In The Ocean', the band soldiered on as a trio, with mid-stream addition Jeff Goddard's bass work helping establish a sidewinding path forward through the smoky jazz melodicism and sun-beaten blues brushstrokes that hung in the background of the band's catalog. In their short time together, Karate helped bolster the national punk ecosystem, a scene in which individual artistic vision was prized but rarely achieved. Singer-guitarist Geoff Farina frequently teased out the emotional nuances of each song, his worn-in voice shading in the complexities of his enigmatic lyrics. On 'The Bed Is In The Ocean' Farina sounded like a guy who knew exactly the right thing to tell whoever may be listening. And with Karate's snaking turns through quasi-punk reveries no one else appeared capable of mustering, it's comforting to hear it accomplished by a band that knew exactly what they were doing. Comes on colured vinyl.