KARP - SELF-TITLED (1997)

Ahhh, the fertile, inbred music scene of Olympia, Washington. Many a wonderful band has emerged from this region, one of my personal favorites being the three-piece robo-metal unit known as Karp. Speaking in a linear fashion, it is easy to draw comparisons between Karp and the modern Melvins-worship two-piece Big Business. After all, both bands feature the same frontman (Jared) and their sounds are similar, albeit far from identical. But the story is much more complicated than that.
After Karp disbanded in 1998, Jared formed the well-loved Tight Bros From Way Back When with Quitty from Behead The Prophet - No Lord Shall Live. Before and after the Tight Bros, he also played in The Whip, who counted amongst their ranks (for awhile) Joe Preston of Thrones fame. Unfortunately, The Whips' career was cut short by the death of drummer Scott Jerrigan, leaving an enormous potential unfulfilled. After The Whips, Jared formed the aforementioned Big Business, who were in turn semi-absorbed by The Melvins. Got that? OK great.
Let's get back to the matter at hand. Karp (I've heard it stands for Kill All Racist Pricks, but who knows?) deliver some truly heavy lockstep rhythms, concise and repetitive but far from boring. Their sound is often described as "catchy" and "hook-laden", and I agree. But not in a completely "melodic" way. It's something weirder, something deeper. Check out "Forget The Minions" and "D+D Fantasy" to see what I mean.

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