Dengue Fever's 3rd Album - Venus on Mars
Venus on Earth is Dengue Fever's third album, and is special among their albums in that it does the best job of capturing the magic of their live shows. At live performances, Dengue Fever has a spell binding effect on listeners. From slow songs that hypnotize audiences to fast songs that get everyone dancing wherever there is space, Dengue Fever concerts are always a fun ride.
The band's sound is built from a combination of Cambodian pop music and American surf and psychadelic rock. What is especially riveting is the way the group has fused the sounds. You'll hear guitar licks and riffs that sound distinctly exotic and yet familiar at the same time because of the way both Cambodian and American influences meld together.
Many songs feature Cambodian pop lyrics, but some, like Sober Driver, feature English lyrics. This is one of the most memorable songs on the album. In the song Sober Driver, dreamlike, psychadelic guitar arpeggios form a backdrop for singer Chhom Nimol. Her voice is soft, languid, and seductive. It seems echo-y as though she is far away. The melody of the lyrics has a distinctively Cambodian sound, which plays nicely off of Zac Holtzmann's sung response. In the song, Chhom Nimol asks for a lift home, to which Zac Holtzmann retorts "You called me up because I'm sober and you wanted me to drive. I'm getting tired of being treated as just a free ride."
This song, like many others on the album, offers hooks that are more subtle than straight American rock hooks often are. You may not instantly be aware that they've caught hold in your mind until later, when you find yourself humming Sober Driver, or any of the other numbers on this spectacular album. Part of what makes this album so impressive is that the group has added its own compositions into the mix. Where previously they were doing unusual and original covers of Cambodian pop music, for the third album they are also writing their own tunes.
Dengue Fever is a unique band for many reasons, from appearance and performance style, to sound. The group is a six piece ensemble that includes five rockers, one of whom (Zac Holtzmann) sports the kind of beard that would make ZZ Top jealous, and a gorgeous, Cambodian beauty queen who sings in the Khmer language as well as English.
They're definitely worth checking out, live, or in the album Venus on Earth.
They'll also be appearing at the Red Vic Theater for a meet and greet with various band members and special screenings of their documentary "Sleepwalking Through the Mekong." We'll have more on their film screening later this month, including a review of the documentary! For information about these screenings, please see Dengue Fever's calendar on their myspace page.
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