A mad, mod mash-up of the off-center musical fetishes of Cambodia circa early 1970s, Dengue Fever’s updated take on Khmer rock is a head-spinning, surreal blend of honeyed lounge pop, surfin’/spyin’ sounds, gritty garage grunge and psychedelic rock. Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol’s birdlike warbles (and raps!) combine with wobbly Farfisa organ, slinky, fat Strat and Afrobeat-y sax to bring the Dengue sound remarkably close to the original, Vietnam War–era stuff band founders Ethan and Zac Holtzman exhumed on decomposing cassettes in Phnom Penh back in the day. Out this week: Dengue Fever’s superb new album, The Deepest Lake, on the band’s own Tuk Tuk label. And seek out the fascinating DVD documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, which follows the band to Cambodia in 2005.

Thu., Feb. 5, 8:30 p.m., 2015
(Expired: 02/05/15)

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