Various Artists

Dengue Fever Presents: Sleepwalking Through the Mekong (M80)

By Aiden Landman
Published: May 6th, 2009 | 9:00am

Sleepwalking Through the Mekong is the accompanying soundtrack to the 2009 documentary of the same name, a film which follows Los Angeles–based band Dengue Fever as they travel to Cambodia for the annual Bon Om Thook Water Festival — marking the homecoming of the band's Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol.

When viewed as a companion piece, Sleepwalking serves its purpose well, but when listened to as a separate entity, the album really takes flight. Tracks by Cambodian artists Ros Serey Sothea, Sinn Sisamouth, and Meas Samoun are snapshots of an indigenous culture with a strong voice. All are wonderfully spare in composition and nearly flawless in their execution. However, the highlights of the disc are the tracks both featuring and composed by Dengue Fever.

Nimol shows herself to be a very adept vocalist, comfortable with having her voice omnipresent in the mix, skittering atop slow-burning song structures, all the while lending emotion, authenticity, and spatial dimension to the songs. One of the other great things about Sleepwalking is its heavy use of the Farfisa organ. Anyone who remembers the Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs hit, “Wooly Bully,” is certainly familiar with the sound and texture that can be obtained using the compact organ.

Whether you discover this collection because of the feature film, or specifically seek out the music contained on the soundtrack, you will no doubt walk away impressed. Both are engaging, challenging, and definitely worth your time.

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