As Warped Tour pop-punk and American
Apparel indie rock dominated the strange
post-Y2K guitar-band milieu, Boston's
Karate delivered an engrossing shot of
rock that constantly shifted between several
shades of subterranean sounds. The quiet
moments on Karate's millennium busting
fourth album carry much of that old,
unbridled intensity, braided into subdued
jazz melodies and slowcore restraint.
Karate's transition into rock maturity bore
supple fruit with Unsolved, presented here
with three previously unreleased songs.