:: The Dandy Warhols - Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

The Dandy Warhols

This is the Dandy Warhols fifth album and their penchant for effortless and cool music remains strong and fervent. There are definitely more experimental moments here, drifting into their own space with their own idiosyncrasies. Try the song ‘Love Is The New Feel Awful’ as an example, with the brass element, albeit in a seven-minute song. Meanwhile, the pop-orientated tracks dictate their lyrical talent (often not meaning to say anything, such is their appeal) – and generally inviting something fresh and cracking. Courtney Taylor-Taylor puts some electronics even into the vocal output. It sometimes sounds as if he has engineered a particular type of whisper. Courtney doesn’t take himself too seriously and allows himself and the band to meander which way they want. ‘ Easy’ is one of the highlight tracks because, despite also being lengthy, it has the typical swaggering big band sound, as well as ‘Everyone Is Totally Insane’, a recent punk-influenced track, I’d imagine. If you are looking for a distinct song, perhaps ‘All The Money Or The Simple Life Honey’ comes close. One thing though: this is their own sound, which nobody comes close to emulating. You can therefore like it or lump it. I like it – always have with this band – because of their rushes of guitars, synths, punk, blues, that all come naturally and the knack of plotting to win over cohesion in a favourable way. The only criticism, could be over-indulgence that could have reduced the songs slightly. But this is still a worthwhile album.