If Los Angeles band Dengue Fever have long been noted for adding colourful stripes and shades to their basic sound – an often superbly wonky brew of Cambodian pop and psychrock– their fifth album sounds like they’ve gone mad in a Farrow & Ball showroom.
Powerfully embellished soulful brass, slinky Latin rhythms and Afrobeat percussion can all be found in this album’s colour palate, marking the band out as unafraid to try almost anything once.
They have the musical skills to make most things work, though, and tracks such as like Tokay, Taxi Dancer and the splendid freak show expanse of Cardboard Castles provide much sparkle.
Chhom Nimol's vocals are front and centre, but ample musical skills in other departments too make The Deepest Lake well worth exploring.
