Great news for fans of ’90s indie rock, post-rock, post-hardcore, emo, etc: veteran Boston band Karate‘s 1994 “Death Kit”/”Nerve” 7″ and 1996 self-titled debut album have finally come to streaming services, courtesy of Numero Group! Washed Up Emo provides some context:

[In 1995] I had an email interview and this 7”. This was 12 years before Washed Up Emo even began but I had the itch. This is it. I have to do this. Music. Something. I saved the interview with Eamonn Vitt from the band and through my absolutely horrendous questioning prior to their show in Burlington with Fugazi and Unwound, I didn’t notice until years later that felt iconic as the memories built up about this band. I was their first ever interview. Eamonn said it in the email and I’ll share that one day or for something special later.

The interview never came out in my zine, Realistic Fiction. I am not sure what happened.

[…] Later for the 2nd volume of the Anthology of Emo series, I wanted Geoff included in the book. He was gracious and agreed to let me put the interview in the 2nd book. More people needed to know about this band, continue to bang the drum while the YouTube links and those that ripped the CDs or had the overpriced vinyl sat waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. Things started to go off a bit with the 2nd volume last fall.

[…] Here we are. Full circle. The first interview, the first 7” is now streaming (along with the full-length.) They’ll be interviews, features, articles, popular writers giving their kudos and revisionist history. The world deserves this and not just for the few that could afford the vinyl or the ripped the CDs for those friends. It’s worth it because the band can get paid their due and see where this goes. This matters.

Read more here and stream Karate’s debut album and 7″ below.