Album Review: Astronomy Class - Mekong Delta Sunrise

There's an issue when rich, white musicians venture into foreign lands, uncover cultural gems and return. Something like an ugly, distant echo of Rudyard Kipling. Anthony Bourdain has made a career of broadcasting that echo, so hearing Bourdain's voice at the opening of Mekong Delta Sunrise, Sydney's Astronomy Class' adventure in Cambodia, feels like a portent of doom. Happily, the opposite is true. Ozi Batla, Chasm and Sir Robbo traverse decades-old Khmer pop music with a light touch. Batla's never sounded so complete. The gang has emerged with a cross-cultural experience of rare sensitivity.