Have you ever heard or listened to Cambodian rock, and no I’m not talking about Holiday in Cambodia. Dengue Fever offers a variety of sounds mostly pulling from Psychedelic and Cambodian Rock styles, the former of which I was totally new to until I plugged myself into a few of the albums that they had to offer on Spotify. Despite the sound which we’ll get to later, the coming of age story of this band is something I think anyone should hear just because it paints a picture of doing your brand of strange passion that may not be widely popular until the fans of it crawl out of the nooks and crannies to rave about it and enjoy it. This is exactly what happened with Dengue Fever, forming in the late 1990s after keyboardist Ethan Holtzman returned from southeast Asia with a new love for Cambodian rock and found a shared love with his brother Zac who had found it at his record store in L.A. After some time the remaining four members came out of the woodwork with their vocalist and Cambodian gem Chhom Nimol who completed the group with her beauty and Cambodian ancestry. Worried that the sounds they adopted may not make waves, they were pleasantly surprised in the early 2000s when they began to catch momentum and released their album, “Escape From Dragon House”. Nearly ten years from their debut and they are set to go on their longest tour ever after a few additional releases under their belt. Actually, after releasing their own Label, “Tuk Tuk Records” in 2013 Dengue Fever has reverted a lot of their own catalog to them and plans on releasing more in-depth cuts and commentary.
Honing in on the least learned and explored album in their repertoire we plug into “In the Ley Lines” which is actually one of the final albums they released before branching out and experimenting with a wider range of sounds. It’s said Dengue Fever pays homage to Khmer Rock which is a genre not widely known in my neck of the woods but seems to bring a trippy and vibrant sound to the table. Both energetic and easy to listen to, track by track we’re fed dancy rhythms that just bounce along the entire time while vocals which I assume are in a Cambodian dialect overtop. Using instrumental sounds we don’t often hear, we’re left with new experiences in our ears and a yearning for more of this twangy psychedelic tone. Interstellar tones and rocking percussion occupies many of the instrumental breaks within the album, but the tones between tracks do dip and vary nicely. “Tiger Phonecard” for me gives a very secret agent soundtrack feel, funky and elusive in the way the song dips and dives along to the rhythm Dengue Fever has set in place you feel placed in a movie soundtrack and you’re the main character. Whether or not you can understand the words in the songs, the upbeat rhythm is infectious and makes you just wanna get up and dance along with it no matter where you are.
Critically acclaimed band Dengue Fever has been featured in multiple movies and TV shows like CSI, True Blood, and The Hangover 2. On top of being recognized in popular media, they’ve also played at massive festivals like Peace and Love, Treasure Island, and Electric Picnic. It comes as no surprise that top news journals have done pieces about Dengue Fever and we’re happy to join the fold. Their music can be found on many major streaming platforms, and definitely keep your eye out for their tour dates! I know we will be.
