Djam Karet - Suspension And Displacement

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Cunieform Records
Catalog Number: Rune 129
Format: CD
Total Time: 67:53:00

Suspension And Displacement (first released in 1991) and Burning The Hard City (1991) are two different CDs yet they complement each other. The first is calmer, sketching wide planes and disconsolate landscapes. The band stands behind Peter Gabriel saying in "Across The Wire": "I speak in pictures, not in words." There is a "worst case scenario" atmosphere present all over the Suspension & Displacement album especially by means of the minimal effect of dark sounds in the long epics.

Take opening song "Dark Clouds, No Rain" which has its minimal effect enhanced by long cello-like outbursts, creating almost an industrial sound filled with loops and ethnic percussion. The dark slow pace of "Angels Without Wings" is interspersed with playful bells which fall down like musical rain on an endless plain. A lesson in anatomy forms the backbone for "Consider Figure Three," which might make this track a favourite with aspiring doctors and nurses! The repetitive "Erosion" is Fripp at his very best, yet it is not our Crimson leader but more elementary stuff from the Djam Karet supermarket. The acoustic guitar which performs some heavy duty in "Severed Moon" maybe comes closest to vintage Porcupine Tree. That same guitar works wonders in "The Naked & The Dead," even when the mumbling grunt voice puts questions marks all over this "song." Fast, weird percussion tops it all. There is a bit of an amazon feel to be found in the final track "A City With Two Tales" mainly due to the inclusion of lots of percussion and bird noises during the introduction. Synthesized steel drums and furious handclaps lead this "piece of music" in a completely different direction resulting in weird and uncontrolled musical mayhem.

The music on this album is great as musical wallpaper as it enables each listener to fill in the images of his/her own. That's why film people and people who work with slides and video will find Djam Karet very interesting. If you are looking for a challenge then you have come to the right place. On the other hand, if you are looking for "songs" then I'm afraid you have come to the wrong address.

Bobo wrote a companion review of Burning The Hard City, too.

Tracklisting:
Dark Clouds, No Rain (10:52) / 8:15 No Safe Place (4:42) / Angels Without Wings (4:59) / Consider Figure Three (7:47) / Erosion (12:56) / Severed Moon (6:27) / The Naked & The Dead (5:20) / Gordon's Basement (3:26) / A City With Two Tales: Part One Revisited 1990 (13:24)

Musicians:
Dark Clouds, No Rain (10:52) / 8:15 No Safe Place (4:42) / Angels Without Wings (4:59) / Consider Figure Three (7:47) / Erosion (12:56) / Severed Moon (6:27) / The Naked & The Dead (5:20) / Gordon's Basement (3:26) / A City With Two Tales: Part One Revisited 1990 (13:24)

Discography:
No Commercial Potential (1985) (Out-of-print)
Kafka's Breakfast (1987) (Out-of-print)
The Ritual Continues (1989)
Reflections In The Firepool (1989)
Burning The Hard City (1991/2000)
Suspension and Displacement (1991/2000)
Collaborator (1994)
The Devouring (1997)
Still No Commerical Potential (1998)
Live at Orion (1999)
New Dark Age (2001)
Ascension (2001)
#1 (2001) (via band only)
#2 (2001) (via band only)
Afghan: Live At The Knitting Factory (2001) (via band only)
A Night For Baku (2003)
Live At NEARfest 2001 (2004)
No Commercial Potential (expanded) (2004)
Recollection Harvest (2005)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: January 1st 2001
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.djamkaret.com
Hits: 3235
Language: english