The Dandy Warhols
Dandys Rule, Ok?

THE REVIEW

"Dandy's Rule, Ok?" is the debut album by the Dandy Warhols, released by Tim/Kerr on April 6, 1995.

Produced by the leader Courtney Taylor together with Tony Lash (former drummer of Heatmiser), it was almost entirely written by Courtney himself and recorded in the winter spanning '94 and '95.

The album consists of fifteen songs plus a spoken introduction, "Introduction By Young Tom," and moves through alternative rock sounds infused with marked psychedelia.

"The Dandy Warhols' T.V. Theme Song" and "Ride," the two singles extracted and placed in sequence after the introduction, represent the more "accessible" soul of the first work of the Portland band. The first is catchy britpop and extremely melodic, whereas the second is more "substantial" and saturated; however, electric guitars are definitely the protagonists in both, as indeed throughout the entire album.

An album that moves nimbly between moments where psychedelia itself takes center stage, such as in "Just Try," "Dick," or in the endless suite of over sixteen minutes "It's A Fast Driving Rave-Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes" (completed by a fifty-one-second intro and an outro, which also closes the album, of almost five minutes) and tracks consisting of a more straightforward and accessible pop rock ("The Coffee And Tea Wrecks," "Tony, This Song Is Called Lou Weed," "Best Friend"). Notable is the brit "shot" "Nothin' To Do," cute but perhaps too Oasis-like, and the good "Grunge Betty," with blasting guitars and guaranteed fun.

Good vocal performance by Courtney, although far from the many vocal register variations of "Odditorium..." and "Welcome To The Monkey House," and decent overall performance of the entire band: it should be noted that here on the drums we still find Eric Hedford, who will be replaced by the current drummer Brent DeBoer only in 1998.

"Dandy's Rule, Ok?" is a decent debut, not comparable to great works like "Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia" or "Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars," yet still valid.

The best, however, will surely come later.

Key Tracks: "Ride," "Dick," "It's A Fast Driving Rave-Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes"