the Dandy Warhols : "Rockmaker"

 

Oddly this is the first time I have reviewed the Dandy Warhols here. They have released three albums since this blog has been in existence, and they were under my radar or the stars did not align for whatever reason. This is on the weird left of Ween, as they stylistically do not take such drastic turns, and in many ways are creating pop music for those who ingest a ton of LSD. This album proves to be written in the same weird vein, but it flows pretty well, and even with the surreal sonic oddity this band can become they are effective songwriters. With song titles like "Danzig With Myself' they are even better at naming said songs. 

There are 90s slacker vibes to "Teutonic Wine". It's almost like Beck if he was more depressed and less obsessed with Prince. 'The Summer of Hate' colors neatly in the lines of what you might expect from 90s rock music if the grunge influence was extracted from it. "I'd Like to Help You With Your Problem" inhales and finds them drifting into a more psychedelic saunter. Slash does add guitar here, and the band goes in a more experimental direction as they blend great guitar tones with subtle electronics. This proves to be very effective and is one of the album's strongest songs. They do similar but from a different angle with a more dissociated mood for "The Cross". While I like that it's darker, I do not feel it flows as well as the previous song. 

To be called "the Root of All Evil" things are in an upbeat mood. There is almost a disco feel to the funky skip in the song's step.  They continue down a lo-fi electronic path as the album progresses, which takes the album down a different path of weirdness. The bass line to " Love Thyself" finds the garage rock party veering off into a more absurd rock parody. On one hand, it is hard to take this sort of thing seriously, but perhaps that is the point.

"Real People" is almost Frank Zappa-like in its narrative. They are playing a much more self-deprecating role than what Zappa did lyrically. The album closes with the more dramatic , but creepy "I Will Never Stop Loving You". The low breathy vocals add a more stalker quality to the lyrics. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me. If you are a fan of this band you already know what you are getting into. 

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