Djam Karet is true alternative music, challenging the orthodoxy of various musical mainstreams with their complex, imaginative compositions and improvisations. The guitar playing has the ferocity and aggression of Heavy Metal without the harmonic limitations that often plague that genre. The rhythm section has the complexity and technical polish of most Progressive Rock without the show-offy flourishes of pure technique that often mar that genre. This is one of music's most underappreciated bands.

I wrote the line, "the best undiscovered band in the world" (quoted on the cover sticker) and I still stand by it.

It's a damn shame that Djam Karet still labors in relative obscurity, because they bring more to the party than any ten "name" bands. They are vicious and sweet, terrifying and sane, enormous and meticulous all at the same time. They are a band of dynamics and contrasts, sound painters of a cubist soundscape, a vision of where music ought to be (if it hadn't been co-opted by corporate sponsorship).

Nah, I take it back. Their fierce independence is part of their appeal.

If you don't know the band this is a great place to start -- it features absolutely killer versions of most of their best previous material. If you DO know the band, I don't have to tell you.