The Dandy Warhols
Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars

THE REVIEW

Success, both a blessing and a curse for an artist. Especially when it comes from a single, insignificant little song used in a mere commercial.

Let's make it clear: "Bohemian Like You" does not represent the Dandys at all, nor the album from which it was taken (apart from "Get Off", barely any pop little songs). In this "Odditorium…", the experimental side of the Portland band, led by the charismatic (and self-proclaimed addict) Courtney Taylor-Taylor, is exponentially accentuated compared to previous works, emphasizing that the previous commercial attempt (the awkward '80s revival "Welcome To The Monkey House") was just an accident, or at best a bad idea.

A long spoken introduction ("Colder Than The Coldest Winter Was Cold") opens the set, followed by "Love Is The New Feel Awful", introduced by a muffled drum and a repetitive yet subdued guitar, while Taylor overlays with a discreet falsetto. But, oh dear, the piece, after a few minutes, transforms into a long instrumental where the Dandys let their creativity flow with a jam featuring vague Jazz flavors. The subsequent "Easy" nods to a vintage Prince, while "All The Money Or The Simple Life Honey" is a great single, with a good crescendo melody accompanied by a sober and very pop arrangement (pop in the noblest sense of the word). "The New Country" takes us to country scenes reminiscent of certain things from second-to-last Ryan Adams work, and introduces us to "Holding Me Up", the only track on the record that recalls the sounds of the successful "Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia": among the best of the entire work.

The part that sends the quality level of the album sky-high, however, comes now. After a useless interlude ("Did You Make A Song With Otis"), comes "Everyone Is Totally Insane", a clear example of how to write a good pop piece: perfectly intriguing melody, average length, excellent vocals even in the lower parts, guitar touches that are not overly intrusive. A textbook case. "Smoke It" is the first single, but it doesn't say anything new, with its catchy melody mimicking the Rolling Stones (imagine Mick Jagger singing through a megaphone); its only merit is leading us to "Down Like Disco", perhaps slightly below "Everyone…", but also capable of presenting an excellent melody and arrangement. And, just when you "resign" to a pop-tinged finale, the hits arrive: "There Is Only This Time" would thrill any Brian Eno fan, it is an electronic piece with infectious atmospheres; rather, since we're speaking of the Warhols, I'd say "drugged". "A Loan Tonight" presses the accelerator even more: ten minutes of sounds with an ethereal and suspended atmosphere cluttered together, with Courtney singing in an unrecognizable, almost alien manner.

Some have described this album as the portrait of a tired band; it is not at all, it is instead a demonstration that the Dandy Warhols are a group that wants to play, experiment and, above all, do what they prefer. With or without audience approval.