Thursday 01.31.08: KCRW presents DENGUE FEVER @ Echoplex

Dengue Fever

Venus on Earth is like being transported through a steamy, humid time warp where Haight-Ashbury was a swinging suburb of Phnom Penh in the ‘60s as oscillating Farsifa and fuzztone guitar languidly drift under and around Nimol’s beautifully hypnotic vocals. When she sings in Khmer (although her sexy-accented English is becoming more common) the emotional phrasing in her voice misleads you into thinking, on songs like the wistfully melancholic “Monsoon of Perfume”, that somehow a Babel fish has slipped into your ear and made Khmer your second language (well, almost). With the opening number “Seeing Hands” and the excellent “Tiger Phone Card”, a romantic long distance duet between Holtzman and Nimol, following closely on from the exuberant psych-surf ‘n’ roll of previous outings (“Sni Bong” taken from Dragon House readily comes to mind), there’s plenty of opportunity to ride the wave of spicy danceability. However, the group are at their best when they spread their improvised wings to morph into lounge lizards. – Popmatters

and:
Fool’s Gold
Holloys

Plus:
DJ Eddie Rusche

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026