America is often described as the melting pot of cultures, where immigrants assimilated in the United States by acknowledging and adopting the ways of cultures, other than their own. This metaphor is typically found in American history textbooks, making the topic a bit more boring to learn about. We found a new way for teachers to introduce this subject of immigration that will have students eager to learn. The technique involves listening to tracks of the “melting pot” band, Dengue Fever. We can mostly all agree that pressing play on their recent album, Cannibal Courtship, is more stimulating than opening up that dense textbook. So, we urge you to click away.
Since we are in a very teacher-like mood, there is no need for you to look up the background information of Dengue Fever. We will present it to you. The Los Angeles based sextet consists of singer Chhom Nimol, guitarist and singer, Zac Holtzman, keyboardist Ethan Holtzman, brass and woodwinds player David Ralicke, drummer Paul Dreux Smith and bassist Senon Galus Williams. Dengue Fever’s journey began when Ethan Holtzman traveled to Cambodia in 1997, where he latched onto the country’s rock genre. He and his brother, Zac, began to assemble the group back in the United States, but brought with them Cambodian native and singer, Chhom Nimol. That brief historical background concludes our class. Now, we are onto their music.
Cannibal Courtship marks the band’s fourth album and was released April 19th, 2011 via Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group. 2011 marks the band’s 10th year anniversary and Cannibal Courtship proves practice makes everything. Dengue Fever has shown bands that implementing diversity and honing it can create a cohesive album that can communicate to fans throughout the world.
Nothing conveys interconnectedness like unifying female and male vocals on a track. Gender diversity is what we like to call it. Zac Holtzman and Chhom Nimol sing so directly towards each other in the track, “Cement Slippers,” that it feels as if they are conversing right in front of us with no tempo and melody backing them. The noticeable differences in their voices give the tune an emotional and relatable appeal. Nimol’s sweeter vocals compared to Hotlzman’s abrasive sound mimic the discrepancies people experience while in a relationship, where the couple is not on the same page. “Cement Slippers” is the ideal beginning track off an album that embraces the dissimilarities within cultures. The tune eases its way into a touchy subject by starting off by accepting both male and female counterparts.
The vocals of Dengue Fever continue to add more diversity to “Cannibal Courtship” with the track, “Family Business.” The distinct sound of Nimol beside the harmonizing vocals of the other Dengue Fever members complement her voice by causing a listener to get fixated and delightfully lost within her rare sound. The track changes up the vocal arrangement as the chorus takes hold by blending the voices of the group as a whole. Dengue Fever’s sound expressed all at once radiates a spiritual and ethereal vibe, replicating that of a Church choir minus the religious restraint.
With the two previous tracks discussed, we feel that we successfully communicated the eclectic vocals of Dengue Fever, which leaves us to talk about how the instruments come into play. “Durian Dowry” is the tune to accomplish that. The instrumental sounds have a repetitive rock tempo that holds its ground throughout the track, not wavering when Nimol’s vocals chime in. The mysterious words that Nimol sings linger throughout the entire tune and positively contradict the heavily American beat played. These two noticeable elements of the track might not fall into the same category of sound, but somehow Dengue Fever makes it work, which further proves opposites can match.
See learning about American history isn’t that boring, especially when you have a musically brilliant band like Dengue Fever. The group effortlessly blends conflicting beats, sounds and lyrics in “Cannibal Courtship”. Before listening to this exceptional album, we always thought of music in terms of the separate genres. With Dengue Fever’s recent album, the group has shown if cultures can mix, why can’t musical genres?
by Lonnie Nemiroff
