Concert review - Southern Culture on the Skids with the Revelettes

7 May 2015 (Shubas Tavern, Chicago IL)

^4.75/5.0

Fort Collins, CO has a decent music scene and I often make it down to Denver for shows. This time, though, I went a little further afield. My friend, Brent, invited me to Chicago to see Southern Culture on the Skids, and I couldn't say no. In a stroke of brilliant timing, I arrived for possibly the nicest two or three days Chicago has had since before the winter. The days were warm and clear and it was a pleasant evening walk from Brent and Lu's place to Shubas. The venue was relatively small, but SCOTS' enthusiastic fans made it a party evening. Great music, killer weather, and warm hospitality made this a wonderful vacation trip.

The Revelettes

Finding the right opening act is always a challenge . Most bands are either thrown together by the venue or they partner up for a tour, but that doesn't always turn out well. Sometimes the problem is that the audience resents anyone that makes them wait for the headliner. Worse, the opener can foster the wrong mood and make it harder on the main act. Southern Culture on the Skids solved that problem handily by bringing in local go-go troupe The Revelettes as their cheerleading squad.


The show started with a pair of  dancers shimmying in retro campy style accompanied by pre-recorded music. Then, the remaining three Revelettes tag teamed in for the next song. After a bit of choreographed fun, they got down to business. SCOTS has recently re- recorded their 1994 album "Ditch Digging" and the Revelettes brought up an audience member to help teach us all some dance moves for the title track. The volunteer picked up the steps quickly and soon fell directly into formation with the troupe. She had such a good time that she stayed on stage for the remaining songs.


The fun vibe and enthusiastic dancing made this a perfect warm up for the band and, later, we'd get the chance to prove we remembered the "Ditch Diggin'" steps.

Southern Culture on the Skids

Southern Culture on the Skids had a casual start as bass player Mary Huff and guitarist Rick Miller sauntered out first and picked up their instruments. Huff briefly launched into Lynn Anderson's "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden", but it was just a tease before Dave Hartman came on stage on drums and the show officially began with the sharp-edged twang of "Skullbucket". Huff's solid bass vamp gave Miller all the foundation he needed to shred his way through the surf-style instrumental, and the crowd reveled in the bright distortion of his overdriven Silvertone.


As the set progressed, I was struck by the communal feel between the band and their fans. They somehow bridged the relaxed celebration of a Southern pig roast and the congregational fervor of a faith healing service. Even as they tapped into a campy sense of fun, the trio imbued the songs with a respectful intensity. They smoothly flowed from surf to garage rock, chicken-picked pedal tones to thrashy punk rhythms, and bluesy vamps would give way to honkytonk country. The crowd tracked every twist and turn, intimately familiar with the songs, ready to sing along or feel the beat deep in their bones.


SCOTS' playful attitude was at the forefront, with the tongue-in-cheek Southern themes of the lyrics and the band's stage presence and appearance. They pulled out some of their classic audience participation moves: volunteers distributing oatmeal pies from the stage and launching fried chicken into the crowd during "8 Piece Box". It was fun to watch Miller get a mischievous twinkle in his eye before he launched into those songs whose title says it all, like "Liquored Up and Lacquered Down" or "Put Your Teeth Up On the Window Sill". And while his green visored fishing hat and Huff's bouffant wig may have played to some campy stereotypes, they wore them comfortably, with little sense of affectation.


But while we all laughed with them at the silliness and spectacle, it was clear that the band and the fans took this music seriously. Surf numbers like "Meximelt" locked into a psychedelic swirl, driven by Hartman's relentless tribal drum pounding while Miller intently channeled the legendary Dick Dale with a brambled wall of guitar notes. "Papa Was a Preacher, But Mama Was a Go-Go Girl" could have been a one-joke tune, but the honkytonk rhythm cradled Huff's twangy vocal, and it wasn't hard to think that there's a grain of truth in that: SCOTS understands the surety of the preacher, the physicality of the dancer, and the balance to love both equally.


After the show, the band wandered out to sign autographs and chat with the fans, many of whom had seen them the night before in Berwyn. Plenty of performers do the meet-and-greet ritual, but even here SCOTS distinguished themselves. Rather than rush people to clear through the lines, they took the time to connect with each one. They'd humbly deflect the gushing praise and try to have a real conversation.Audience members understood that and waited patiently, knowing they'd get their chance to reminisce about their favorite show or tell the adventure of how they had made it to the venue that night. It was great way to show why, on stage or off, Southern Culture on the Skids are a class act.


More photos on my Flickr.

Recording Review - Dengue Fever, The Deepest Lake (2015)

Retro mod, moody, and hypnotic -- take a sonic dip in exotic waters
^4.75/5.0 

Cosmically speaking, three and half years is the tiniest of intervals. Halley’s Comet takes around 75 years to swing by, so a three to four year pause between Dengue Fever releases should be bearable. But given the hothouse worlds that bands live in, the anticipation can be challenging. Last time around, 2011’s Cannibal Courtship (review) reassured fans that the group hadn't turned away from their Khmer rock foundation, even if they had added bits of funk, ska, and soul. Now Dengue Fever is back with The Deepest Lake, and they continue to refine their playing, this time emphasizing the spy music and cocktail aspects of their sound.

Of course, any time you run into old friends again, you compare them against your memory for changes, and the band takes advantage of that to prank their fans a bit. The opening track, “Tokay”, kicks off with a drum machine and synths laying down a Latin dance vamp. The ten measures intro is long enough that I started to wonder if the band had reinvented themselves. But when Chhom Nimol started singing, the keyboards tag-teamed out to let Zak Holtzman’s tremolo heavy guitar come in, connecting with the group's canonical style. Senon Williams still revels in his Latin-flavored bassline and the percussion includes cuíca accents, but that all fits perfectly with the familiar sounds of Nimol’s haunting voice, echo laden guitars, and Ethan Holtzman’s moody organ solo.

After “Tokay” teases, “No Sudden Moves” offers a strong taste of what The Deepest Lake is all about. The mod, mid ‘60s cocktail vibe is Dengue Fever a go go. Tight horns harmonize the twisting guitar riff and a bass sax blatts out the punches. The chorus softens the edges with sweet pulsing guitar winding around the vocals. The bridge interlude veers forward in time, kicking off with an angular new wave guitar pattern, setting up a slinky bassline to accompany Nimol’s staccato Khmer rap. Then the band drifts into a spy soundtrack interlude to recapture the mod flow of the song and take it home.

That hip retro feel continues through The Deepest Lake, meshing well with the reflective tone of reverb-soaked guitar and hypnotic bass. Nimol’s voice is born for this milieu, sexy and seductive, somehow creating understanding, even if most of the lyrics are in Cambodian. While these songs share DNA with earlier tunes, the group seems to be branching out a bit to explore other cultures. “Ghost Voice” features a distinctly Nigerian guitar, even though the other instruments are anchored in Asian tonality and “Still Waters Run Deep” has an infectious upbeat rhythm that blends Bollywood with “Spy Who Loved Me” chic.

Not all of these tunes are completely new; two were featured on the Girl From the North EP that came out just over a year ago (review). “Taxi Dancer” and “The Deepest Lake on the Planet” are just as good here, but The Deepest Lake is full of great tracks. Probably the best one is “Rom Say Sok”, which features Zac and Nimol’s vocal chemistry and draws on the psychedelic soul the band toyed with on Cannibal Courtship. I can’t help but picture “it” girls doing the frug as the tune spins out. Although this is one of the few songs here with mostly English lyrics, they're trippy and oblique, “French boyfriend will never be wed / Alligator's dried up and now it's dead.” The lines may not form a coherent narrative, but the heady music plays along, with tweedly organ and cool little feedback echoes in the margins. A little over halfway through the tune, the horns come in and pump up the soul to lay down the groundwork for David Ralicke’s raging sax solo.

The Deepest Lake proves that Dengue Fever still have their fingers on the exotic, cross-cultural pulse that has inspired them since the beginning. There are precious few truly original bands out there, and I’m glad to hear that one of my favorites is keeping the faith. We may need to wait another three years for the next album, but this one will tide us over till the comet swings by again.

Concert review - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, with La Femme, Silver Snakes, and Git Some

3 April 2014 (Summit Music Hall, Denver CO)

Good intentions and all of that... I wanted to make it down to Denver in time to catch all of the acts, but I ran quite late, arriving just in time to catch La Femme's extended soundcheck. I was disappointed to miss Silver Snakes and Git Some, but I wasn't alone; most of crowd showed up sometime during La Femme's frantic set..

La Femme

It seemed to take a long time for La Femme to get their monitors and mics correctly set up, but that gave us plenty of time to take in the band members and appreciate each one's unique style, from pseudo-vaquero panache to metrosexual boxer chic. Think Adam Ant, but organized by an ADHD costumer. But the random mix of looks was central to band's artistic sense of theatre: it's not a show unless it's a spectacle. It didn't matter, though, whether the band's appearance aligned because they played in such close formation.


Back in 2010, I reviewed La Femme's EP, Le Podium # 1, appreciating the way they grafted surf guitar tonality onto new wave. Over the last several years, they've honed that style, pulling in punk and synth pop influences. The blend of reverbed surf twang and synth textures -- call it noir wave -- occasionally recalled bands like The Cure, but generally La Femme was in a class all their own. The dark energy was great and, although almost all the lyrics were in French, everyone could appreciate the side trips into Krautrock trippiness and Velvet Underground psychedelic drone.


The music worked, but the band's visuals were even better. The front edge of the stage was fenced with keyboards, with only the guitarist going without. His consolation prize accessory was a wonderfully retro theremin. They engaged the audience with stylized dance moves and ironic poses. Frontman Marlon Magnée was chaotically charismatic, whether offering a campy come-ons
to the crowd or sexually assaulting his keyboard. It was crazy fun, but also a little bewildering for some in the audience. Afterwards, I heard someone asking, "What the hell was that?"


By the time their set ended in a trainwreck celebration of noise and dancing, they had played enough punk thrash to lay the groundwork for Trail of Dead’s set.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Contradictions are at the heart of what powers …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. They ambitiously create rich, concept-heavy post-rock albums that are executed with raw punk rock intensity. Their music spans from fragile, wispy psychedelic patterns to peaks of roaring chaos. But the biggest contrast is between the serious, focused tone they find in the studio and the unfiltered range of emotions they bring to the stage. This tour is all the more intriguing because it’s a brief pause before resuming work on a new album that’s scheduled for later this year. With their most recent release being 2012’s Lost Songs, they may have thought it would be hard to motivate a good turn out, so this tour reaches back to what is regarded as the band’s breakout album, Source Tags & Codes.


After La Femme's wild finale, it didn't take long for roadies to clear their equipment and power up Trail of Dead’s gear. So, after this brief break, the band came out and launched immediately into “It Was There That I Saw You”. The opening vamp passed quickly and they soared into the driving swirl of the song. The dynamics of the album version were preserved, but the band was wired and pounded through the tunes. Conrad Keely seemed to swap out guitars for almost every song and Jason Reece often traded instruments with Jamie Miller, but these transitions never slowed the flow of their performance.


Even stripped of their studio production nuances – like the ambient crowd sound and free jazz noodling at the end of “Baudelaire” – the tunes lost none of their power or presence. Trail of Dead nailed the punk foundations of the songs and made them as cathartic and moving as ever.


It was clear that the crowd was intimately familiar with Source Tags & Codes, sometimes feeling torn between singing along and surrendering to the visceral punch of the music. For all the meaning that we imbued these songs with, Keely and Reece were even more invested. They played like they were tapping into their younger selves with the hindsight of all the changes they had seen. The personnel shifts and bulkier configurations of the past seemed to melt away and this four piece group channeled the epic scope of that earlier incarnation. Like guitarist/drummer Miller, bass player Autry Fulbright II has only been with Trail of Dead for three years, but his charismatic presence was a strong part of the stage chemistry. Both men seemed just as committed to these songs as Keely and Reece.


All too soon, Keely marked the end of the series, noting “This is the last song,” and then he sighed, “It’s a short album.” The wistful sound of “Source Tags & Codes” was perfectly appropriate and it was even shorter without the string coda of the album version. As the final notes faded, the audience seemed drained for a moment before the band kicked into “Mistakes & Regrets” from 1999’s Madonna. It captured the retrospective mood in the wake of Source Tags & Codes and then dismissed it.


The crowd settled in as Trail of Dead wandered through another five songs from their back catalog, with particularly strong performances on “Catatonic” (Lost Songs) and “Would You Smile Again” (Worlds Apart, 2005). For this latter tune, Reece reached into the crowd, giving people a chance to sing along and participate in the ritual. After wrapping up the main set, they came back out for a single encore, a version of “Richter Scale Madness” from the band’s first album. The nihilistic flail of the tune energized us all for the late night ride home.

More photos on my Flickr.

Recording review - Dengue Fever, Girl From The North (2013)

Auditory tapas: rich and exotic morsels to savor

Dengue Fever keeps fairly busy with international tours and running their label, Tuk Tuk Records. Aside from reissues of their earlier albums, Dengue Fever, Escape From Dragon House, and Venus On Earth, they've recently released a special collection, In The Ley Lines, which includes new arrangements and live versions of several of their classic tracks. All that is great, but where the new work that their fans crave? Cannibal Courtship (review) came out two years ago and we need another new fix. Wait no longer, relief is on the way. The group has a new EP, Girl From The North and it serves as a rich reminder of everything to love about the band. There are only three tracks, but every one is a gem.

The album leads off with "Taxi Dancer", the most straightforward selection of the set. It rides in that Cambodian rock sweet spot as surf and ska lock together with a retro pop twist. The call and response between lead singer Chhom Nimol and the band makes the verses sway, but her voice on the chorus is haunted and lost.

"Deepest Lake On The Planet" begins with a rich, Doors-style vamp: the slinky bassline weaves around Ethan Holtzman's moody organ, evoking "Riders On The Storm". The guitar tosses out a few delay-box mirrored riffs to intensify the trance-like feel. Nimol joins in and weaves a spell of sweet paralysis. The seductive beauty of her voice is first wistful, then calculating. Like their earlier work, this song demands that the listener surrender their will, but promises a lotus-eater's peace in return.

The title track pushes deeper into mind-expanding spaces. The band layers jazzy horns over an introspective jam creating a psychedelic raga. The organ and guitar engage in a tug-of-war for our attention until Nimol's voice slides in and takes center stage. The exotic sound of Khmer syllables is intoxicating. The solos that follow offer no respite. Zac Holtzman's guitar starts with a rippling waterfall phrase that eddies and mutates as it repeats. This is followed by echo-laden sax riffs from David Ralicke that climb ever higher before Nimol comes back in. Much like their classic "Seeing Hands", this tune begs for another ten minutes of exploration.

It's reassuring to see that Dengue Fever is still adept at creating these expressive tapestries of sound. Girl From The North is a small, flavorful treat like a delicious auditory tapas plate: deeply intense, but a small enough serving to whet the appetite as you savor the moment.

Concert review - Dick Dale with Bonnie and the Clydes

4 July 2012 (Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins CO)

The Aggie was double booked on the 4th. Lucero's show at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre was moved to a late night slot at the Aggie and the Dick Dale show was pushed earlier. The doors opened at 6pm, but the real surprise was that the opening act took the stage at 6:30 pm. The quick start time surprised a lot of us.

Bonnie and the Clydes

Bonnie and the Clydes brought a strong, classic country sound to the stage. They didn't aspire to flashy technical chops, but their tight arrangements showed their dedication. The band's real strength was recognizing that entertainment is about more than just hitting the notes.

Bonnie Sims was a perfect centerpiece for the band. She had a big, friendly personality and a relaxed stage presence that clicked with the audience, even though they weren't all country fans. She rounded out the package with good instrumental skills and a very strong, expressive voice. While she was charismatic enough to eclipse the rest of the band, each member found their own way to stand out and connect as well.

Fiddle player Nancy Steinberger added sweet vocal harmonies and some tasteful instrumental lines. Drummer Jason Pawlina projected a cheery aura along with the solid beats. Bass player Michael Schenkelberg naturally gravitated to wherever the action was on stage and injected his personality. Taylor Sims was a bit more reserved on lead guitar. He had some good twangy leads, but he often seemed pleasantly surprised he pulled off his parts. This endeared him to the crowd.

Taken as a whole, the band seemed very conscious of their stage blocking. The players shifted to follow the lead as it was tossed from guitar to fiddle to vocals. That pulled the audience's attention to the action and built it higher.

I liked their original songs -- they have a new album coming out in the next couple of weeks -- but some of their interesting cover choices made the biggest impression. Their version of Patsy Cline's I Fall To Pieces was fairly straightforward. The tempo was skosh quicker, but Bonnie Sim's singing hit those deep opening notes and captured Cline's expressive vocal crack. On the other hand, their cover of Bob Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody drifted further from the original. I've heard soulful versions, but this is the first dark country rock version I've come across. Sims' powerful voice had more in common with Etta James than Dylan's original, but that was fine.

Dick Dale

The pause between the sets was shattered by a wicked flurry of guitar notes assaulting our ears from offstage. The band took the stage first. Then Dick Dale strolled out, still laying out his patented reverb-soaked, overdriven guitar shred. This dramatic start was Dale's way of reminding us that he is the King of Surf Guitar. The bombast also made it hard to believe that he is 75 years old. The initial blast of speed and fury kicked off a breakneck pace for the set.

The band's line up featured Sam Bolle (Agent Orange) on bass and Dick's son Jimmy Dale on drums. Their high energy playing transcended "power trio" to be more of a "superpower trio". Bolle's bass had a punk energy, but enough flash to stand up to Dale's guitar. Jimmy Dale was a powerhouse on drums, banging out tight driving fills and rumbling kickdrum rolls. Although Dick occasionally tossed in some chords, the band had no need for a rhythm guitarist. Bolle's thick bass sound and Dale's wailing guitar saturated that sonic space with ease.

Ever the master showman, Dick Dale owned the stage, staying in near constant motion. With a theatrical gesture, he'd toss energy at the bass and drums for their solos. Then, with a big flourish, he'd blindly tap out harmonic notes on his fretboard with deadly accuracy. Dale's relationship with his Fender Stratocaster was expressive, one moment he'd coax it, then he'd shift to wrest sound out of it like it's a living beast

The songs were often extended medleys. Pipeline slid into Ray Charles' What'd I Say, with the crowd already ready to follow Dale's vocal cues. Then, after a hint of California Sun, the song ran through Summertime Blues, Smoke on the Water, and The Peter Gunn Theme. With each new twist, the jam kept expanding.

This flow allowed Dale to hit most of the crowd favorites along the set, including the classic Miserlou, Nitro, The Eliminator, and House of the Rising Sun (with Dale on vocals!).

The climax of the set was the drum solo duet from Dick and Jimmy Dale. The pair meshed together with the elder Dale focusing on the toms and Jimmy working the snare and kick, but their riffs interlocked as they crossed drums. Then, Dick came to the front of the stage with his sticks. As Bolle presented Dale his bass like a sacrificial offering, Dale started drumming out notes. Bolle fretted the notes while Dale tapped out a fast, fluid melodic solo. Then he flipped the bass and Dick played the back, generating an echoey, rumbling tune. Occasionally, Dale reached a stick underneath to slide a note on the neck before punctuating the line with a final tap. Even having seen Dale do this before, this was phenomenal -- a stunning visual and sonic showpiece.

Even after bouts with cancer and reaching 75, the legendary Dale still refuses to compromise on his show or music. He and his amazing band cranked through about a full hour of music that left the crowd exhausted but happy.

More photos on my Flickr.

CD review - Dengue Fever, Cannibal Courtship (2011)

It's been a three year wait for a new album by Dengue Fever. The music on 2009's DVD documentary release, Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, was mostly older material, leaving 2008's Venus on Earth as the last full album. The band has been developing their own unique character through a progression of releases, adding more original music and extending the retro Cambodian rock music that inspired them. Cannibal Courtship, due out April 19, features a maturing sound that's still true to their Khmer rock roots.

If you aren't already familiar with Cambodian rock, it's a cultural byproduct of the Viet Nam war. Cambodians assimilated American surf/garage/psychedelic rock and blended it into their own folk music to create an exotic, jangly mix of surf guitar with intriguing scales. Unfortunately, it was largely destroyed by Pol Pot in the mid '70s. Dengue Fever resurrected this music, adding in their own version of surf, jazz, and sense of pop. Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol's singing and personality provided the final necessary element to complete the band's sound.

Cannibal Courtship takes the familiar sonic features and throws in some R&B, funk, and ska. The ska sounds are the most striking. Listening to the sinister second wave ska grooves of Sister on the Radio or 2012 (Bury Our Heads) was a revelation that sent me digging through Dengue Fever's back catalog. I was surprised to hear these elements in earlier songs, too, like Ethanopium. The slinky, reverbed guitar riffs, the expressive bass lines, and winding organ sounds have been there all along. I love that the band turned me on to the links between surf rock and ska.

The album is full of great tracks; it's hard to just pick a few to talk about. Uku stands out, setting up a psychedelic Khmer groove that shifts into a dub style jam. The title track, Cannibal Courtship, shows off Dengue Fever's growth. The interplay between the cool repeated guitar riff and Nimol's voice is perfect. She sounds dreamy and desperate at the same time. The vibe shifts between laid back R&B and harder rock. It's a meditation, a celebration, and an arcane rite all in one.

The absolute best, though, is Durian Dowry, which sets up a snaky, psychedelic groove like a tripped out version of Pipeline by the Chantays. The noir surf rock vibe evolves through a progressive set of changes, giving the song a post-rock twist on Dengue Fever's classic sound. Senon Williams' bass playing is transcendent, weaving through the song and pulling the elements together into a forward drive.

Grab Cannibal Courtship when it comes out. Dengue Fever is a band that deserves more attention. Their exotic masala of styles piques the senses like my homebrewed fenugreek/ginger mead.

Previous reviews:
Venus on Earth
Sleepwalking Through the Mekong

CD review - La Femme, Le Podium #1 (2010)

America has been the land of opportunity. Along with releasing their EP, Le Podium #1, La Femme is touring the US, hoping to grab some of our mystique to take home. SF Weekly quotes Marlon (from the band), "...when we go back to France, just having played around the U.S. will be an advantage." They've started their visit on the West coast, all the better to tap into their musical inspiration.

Surf music has had an impact all over the world from Dengue Fever's version of surf influenced Cambodian rock to Laika and the Cosmonauts Finnish take. La Femme's serve as Paris' latest entry on the scene. Their interpretation has electronic undertones. Tight beats and bass, flanged and reverbed guitar, and subtle keyboard work weave together. The mostly female vocals are all in French (naturellement). Sur La Planche shows off their dance surf sound.

After that start, Le Podium #1 drifts afield from a straight surf vibe. Télégraphe is a Blondie style new wave. Despite starting off with male vocals, the female vocal comes back. The nervous beat reminds me of Gruppo Sportivo's Mission a Paris. The band continues the new wave/post punk sound with La Femme Ressort. Here, their minimalist approach sounds the most emphatically French. The guitars take a backseat and let the keyboards drive this one.

The EP ends with the edgy electronic sounding Francoise, pushing the boundaries of "surf". Eventually, the foggy mood of the intro melts away to reveal the surf guitar melody. Even then, the synth sound dominates the arrangement.

Le Podium #1 is available on BandCamp. Listen and think of smoky late afternoon at the cafe, while the drizzle coats the streets.

CD review - Fight Fair, California Kicks (2010)

Snotty boys with guitars never seem to go out of fashion. They often hover close to punk, like the Ramones or, more recently, Green Day. Or they can play straighter rock style like the Refreshments or Lit. They even come in foreign languages, like Die Ärzte. One of my faves from the last several years is Bowling For Soup.

Southern California party band Fight Fair treads similar ground. Their first full length album, California Kicks, is due out at the end of June. It has the right pop punk vibe, simple songs, and even a touch of surf guitar. They aren't trying to be that clever and their attitude is a bit weak for the genre. Still, I don't think they're quite aiming for "snotty boys with guitars". Rather, they're shooting for a rocking beach party scene and Fun, Fun, Fun.

The songs all feature some great Beach Boys style harmonies. Vocal arrangements are definitely their strong point. The lead off song, California Girls, is dead simple, with tight riffs and a perfect guitar sound. The pop style backup vocals get your head bopping along. The only weak moment is the somewhat forced chanting section. It's the kind of thing that probably works well live, but it doesn't translate here.

I've Got a Secret really draws the comparison to Bowling For Soup -- they throw in the same kind of tossed off comments between lines that BFS uses all the time. It's more pop than punk and it's catchy as hell. California Kicks and Going Nowhere cover some of the same ground and these songs are the closest to capturing that snotty sound.

Backseat Bingo hits the surf theme hot and heavy. The Big Bopper style intro is a little cheesy, but the Beach Boys surf drive is satisfying. It's an early '60s retro surf classic in the making. The lyrics are a modern touch (you'd never hear Mike Love singing, "So let's make out at your Mama's house/We're all loaded, gettin' going, why don't you take off that blouse..."). Plenty of innuendo, but they clearly love the old school music.

California Kicks is a fun listen. Sip something rummy with an umbrella in it while you enjoy the jams.

CD Review - Dengue Fever, Venus on Earth

There is a particular joy in finding a new band and having it open up a world. It's no great surprise that the band Dengue Fever never quite showed up on my radar. Even though they started to get a little bit of national attention last year, they weren't any kind of household name. So, having a friend turn me on to them has turned out to be a very happy accident (thanks, Tommy).

Brothers Zac and Ethan Holztman put this band together after traveling to Cambodia. They managed to assemble a very interesting group of musicians, centered around an ex-patriot Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, who was fairly well known back home. Prior to this album, I wasn't familiar with the retro Cambodian pop music that they're expanding on but I've come to learn that it came about as a result of exposure to Western rock music during the Viet Nam war merging together with more traditional Cambodian sounds. By 1975, though, much of this music was destroyed by the Pol Pot regime.

That's enough of a history lesson to give this album some context. The sound is very much an amalgam of psychedelic surf guitar, 60's era cocktail jazz, and exotic Asian melodies. All of this comes together into a real moody musical mix. The unique factor is Nimol's voice, which has such a cool sound. She sings in an ethereal soprano, with a haunting vulnerability that grabs your ear even if you don't understand the Khmer lyrics. This whole album is full of gems.

My favorite track is the first one, Seeing Hands, which is a Pink Floyd-like raga groove: Indian mixed with psychedelia with Nimol's chanting over the top. The reverby guitar and bass drive this on, building repetition into a truly intense trip. Washes of keyboard and a brief baritone sax solo are just icing. My biggest regret is that it's not longer - this could easily expand into a Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun extended jam.

From there, we drift through Bond movie spy music, mid 60's surf sounds, and more Indian/Asian scales. The guitars are drenched in reverb, the farfisa organ wheezes, it's really a wonderful sound. The songs lyrics drift between Khmer and English, with a couple of duets. Tiger Phone Card reminds me a bit of Boy Genius (When We're Famous from Don't Fear the Reverb), especially in Zac's vocals. Lyrically, it deals with a long distance relationship: "...you only call me when you're drunk..."

Actually, a number of the songs had elements that reminded me of other classic songs of the era, like Laugh Track referencing Telstar by the Tornados or Tooth and Nail having a bit of Bowie's Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud. Monsoon of Perfume doesn't reach back quite as far when it reminds you of Hotel California. Despite these minor similarities, the album has a consistently original feel. If you like the garage band surf sound and moody introspective vocals, you should check this out. Dengue Fever is my new favorite band for a while.


If I were going to pick the drinks based on location, I'd have to say some kind of warm light lager on a hot night but that doesn't really fit. The hot night is good but the right beverage is the Belgian Pauwel Kwak, which is a complex, spicy beer.