The Dandy Warhols
The Black Album

THE REVIEW

In 1996, the Dandy Warhols found themselves with the task of following up their debut "Dandy's Rule, Ok?".

They recorded an album that, once completed, was rejected by Capitol, which deemed it insufficient. The recordings began anew, resulting in their second studio effort, titled "...The Dandy Warhols Come Down".

The "rejected" album, however, was later self-released in 2004 by the Dandys (exclusively online) under their label Beat The World Records, under the name "The Black Album". The "ghost album" of Courtney and company thus materializes and, surprise of surprises, turns out to be one of the best works from the Portland group.

The sound of the tracks is acidic, distorted, sick. The splendid "Good Morning" is exhaustive in this regard; unlike the "calm" version included in "...The Dandy Warhols Come Down", here the piece is raw, violent, structured on an impenetrable wall of guitars from which Taylor-Taylor's sing-song voice emerges. Two other songs ended up in the "official" release ("Boys", basically similar, and "Minnesoter", instead devastated and minimal). For the rest, we are facing the usual "orgy" of influences from the American group: it starts with two tracks, "Arpeggio Adaggio" and "Crack Cocaine Rager" (the latter enriched by the use of a vocoder), which essentially echo the band’s most classic style (as does the closing "Twist"), leading to a heartfelt homage to electropop in "Head" and the unfettered country of the fantastic "White Gold". A couple of acidic and expansive instrumentals also stand out, where the band’s drugged and distorted musical vision emerges in all its completeness. Even the more carefree and oblique works, like the acoustic "Earth To The Dandy Warhols", or the anti-melodic and alienating ones (the hypnotic "Shiny Leather Boots", written by Taylor along with McCabe), fit perfectly into the "sound logic" of the work.

A great work, unfortunately little known but excellent, to be discovered (or rediscovered) to fully understand the evolution of the American band, also in view of the new studio release expected (probably) this year.

Key tracks: Head, Good Morning, White Gold, Shiny Leather Boots