Escape from Dragon House

iTunes Review

After a wonderfully strange and exotic self-titled debut in 2003, L.A.’s Dengue Fever followed up with the equally exotic and compelling Escape From Dragon House. Founders and brothers Zac (guitar) and Ethan Holtzman (keys) lead a band of musicians through expertly translated musical milieus originating in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, and America, with jazz, pop and psychedelia smoothly intermingling and melding like exotic spices in a simmering stew. The fantastically evocative voice of Cambodian émigré Chhon Nimol starts things off on “We Were Gonna” with a sinewy display of vocal work, weaving in and out of the psych-pop guitars and Farfisa organs the carry the song. Faintly recalled ‘60s dance moves will serve you well during “Sni Bong;” the steamy “Sleepwalking Through the Mekong” snakes provocatively, like a tepid river; and the brilliant “One Thousand Years of a Tarantula” is standout psychedelic rock. Their cover of the Cambodian pop gem, “Tip My Canoe” features Zac Holtzman doing a bang-up job singing with Nimol, and the track bubbles with a shy, infectious joy. Ditto the whole darn record.