Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever call themselves a "Cambodian pop band," but as astute observers have likely noticed, the only obviously Asian member of the L.A.-based band is singer Chhom Nimol. The tunes the group creates, however, are well within the pop music tradition that aficionados of underground international music have become accustomed...

By Jason Ferguson

April 3, 2008

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Dengue Fever call themselves a "Cambodian pop band," but as astute observers have likely noticed, the only obviously Asian member of the L.A.-based band is singer Chhom Nimol. The tunes the group creates, however, are well within the pop music tradition that aficionados of underground international music have become accustomed to through compilations like Cambodian Rocks. It's a sublime mix of garage pop, swingin' surf-rock, and that particular sort of mellifluous high-octave singing favored by Asian girl vocalists. Having garnered serious acclaim among hipsters and world-music intelligentsia — so much so that a documentary on the group's climb within and beyond the L.A. scene has been made — the stakes are pretty high for Dengue Fever's third album. Not surprisingly, there's not much on Venus on Earth that veers too strikingly from the stylistic corner they've staked out for themselves. And while that style is admittedly unique to Western ears, the progressive and occasionally abrasive approach that Dengue Fever takes to its pop would also be likely to shock those who grew up on the same music Chhom Nimol did. The singer's gentle voice is still the glue that holds this sound together as she croons over her bandmates' occasionally noisy outbursts.

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