Djam Karet: New Dark Age

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

Recent articles (1,629 total)

Published: August 1, 2001

Southern California-based progressive rock band, “Djam Karet’s latest effort may indeed represent the logical link between the hard hitting, Live At Orion and the melodically tinged yet equally powerful, The Devouring. With this newly released outing, the quartet produces shrewdly conceived textural arrangements via well-placed synth textures, crisp, slicing electric lead guitar lines, impacting crunch chords and hammering rhythms.

The piece titled “No Man’s Land,” is all about contrasting elements amid subtly rendered EFX, atmospheric underpinnings, and a straightforward hard rock approach. However, “All Clear” features Gayle Ellett’s catchy organ-based motifs in concert with the musicians’ melding of 70’s style and somewhat brazen prog-rock musings along with slight injections of quasi-psychedelic treatments. Here, the soloists’ pursue climactic opuses atop suspenseful orchestrations, Mike Henderson’s wistful electric slide guitar work and their altogether forward thinking strategies. - Highlights abound throughout, as the musicians’ also embed unobtrusive doses of space rock, ambient electronic passages, and homespun electro/acoustic interludes into their rather diverse bag of tricks as the band’s rich legacy continues to unfold with each subsequent release. Recommended!

Cuneiform Records

Track Listing: No Man

Personnel: Gayle Ellett; electric guitar, mellotron, organ, synths, field recordings, effects: Chuck Oken, Jr.; drums & perc, synths: Henry J. Osborne; bass, perc: Mike Henderson; acoustic, electric 6 & 12 string guitars, slide guitar, acoustic & electronic perc. synths, field recording & effects

Record Label: Cuneiform Records
Style: Fusion/Progressive Rock