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***That Cambodia Rocks CD tapped into a serious jones for Vietnam War-era Cambodian psychedelic surf/garage rock. Given the dodgy availability of such releases, there are reasons aplenty to hail the arrival of Dengue Fever-- in vivid, stark, hallucinatory reality, an actual, real live band. Fronted by amazing vocalist Chhom Nimol, Dengue Fever has surprisingly universal appeal. Chhom herself is already quite accustomed to seizing the hearts of listeners (including the King and Queen of Cambodia), as she comes from a family best considered as a Cambodia pop music dynasty-- not unlike a Cambodian version of the Jacksons. The rest of the band is no flake-fest either, consisting of Zac Holtzman (Dieselhed) and his brother Ethan on Farfisa organ, Seenon Williams (Radar Brothers), David Ralicke (Beck) and seasoned drummer/engineer Paul Smith. Their covers stay remarkably true to the crazy party music spirit of the '60s- and '70s-era originals. But there are also original songs, some of which veer off into the darkened corridors of lost love and ghostly noir romanticism, dissolving sometimes into spaces of genuine bleakness and tragedy-- all in the Khmer tongue. Far from mere novelty or cheap Orientophile thrill, Dengue Fever keeps listeners on their toes, dancing to their way-out tones. Chhom Nimol and Dengue Fever recently got a taste of Homeland Security en route to a performance on the eve of a code orange alert; Chhom was pulled from the car by the San Diego border patrol, and sent to jail where she kicked it with Latina gangsters for 22 days. We can all feel safer now. |
