Cambodian Rocks Vol. 1

Cambodian Rocks
Reviewed by Sadie O., 4/15/11
Rock ‘n’ Roll from Cambodia in the 60’s. It’s kinda sad how much more super groovy, awesome and bitchen-ass this is than pretty much anything I’ve heard released in this country in the last several years… Most tracks are sung by Sinn Sisamouth (a guy) or Ros Sereysothea (a chick). She has a lot of classical Khmer sound in her singing, but the guitars are straight from the garage. For fans of Dengue Fever or any of the Southeast Asian rock comps in our library. All tracks are either jaw-dropping or simply stunning. PLAY THIS!
1. 4:17 ***syncopated little rockin’ groove, male vocals recorded in the bathroom, tinny guitar – it’s beautiful! Awesome guitar solo.
2. 3:24 ***fabulous – the Ike & Turner version of Rolling on the River, in Cambodian. Check the actual meaning of the lyrics in the booklet – eeeesh!
3. 2:14 ***garage rock! Thumpa thumpa!
4. 2:44 ****wah wah, horns, high female vocals – this is NUTS! (BTW – she is a virgin and she’s very shy. Says so right in the booklet…)
5. 2:49 ***fuzz guitar, farfisa, and frug. Guitar doesn’t do much, but it still shreds.
6. 3:06 ***great out of tune guitar, jolly chorus, disturbingly plaintive vocals.
7. 3:03 ***boppin’ sock hop pop – whee! Farfisa!
8. 2:51 ***bongos and bitchenness – surf is up on Cambodia’s beach.
9. 3:28 ****oooh, VERY slinky mambo, baby! Odd male vocals, and THE gnarliest keyboard solo(s) EVER.
10. 2:41 ***long fade-in, jolly pop.
11. 4:10 ***garage rock with twangy guitar, fine vocals, and perfectly brilliant guitar and farfisa solos.
12. 2:47 ***just misses Hullaballoo worthiness by a squidge (and a sigh).
13. 3:10 ****gnarly garage rock, Very Nice Vocals from an available gentleman. Guitar solo trying SOOOO hard to be Santana…
14. 3:07 ****sweet little spoken interchange, drum roll, and boppy silly…gum advert? Golly! Oh snap – what a keyboard solo!
15. 3:51 ******Cambodia discovers country blues. I’m getting DTs just listening to this. (Course, I often have DTs, anyway…)
16. 5:14 ******big, epic, echo-laden cover of House of the Rising Sun. I am so fucking in awe of this track!
17. 3:30 ******cover of Gloria, but with reverb and utter lo-fi-tude.
18. 3:21 *****trumpets and grooviness. Clearly aspects of more traditional music, but popified. Male and female vocals. The screwiest farfisa solos yet!
19. 3:22 ****twist-a-mambo, baby! Very little sense of chord structure, but who’s counting?