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Allan Raible writes about music and the music industry. He is based in New York.
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Review: The Dandy Warhols’ “Earth To The Dandy Warhols”
August 27, 2008 2:58 PM
The Dandy Warhols have had a very uneven career. A little more than a decade ago when they released “The Dandy Warhols Come Down,” they showed great promise. That album contained the defining singles “Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth” and “Boys Better.” Three years later they returned with the even better album, “Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia.” That album was best known for their song, “Bohemian like You,” but the song “Godless” was better. In 2003, the band came back with a new-wavy record called “Welcome to the Monkey House,” which contained their hit, “We Used to Be Friends.”
Starting with their last album, “Odditorium or Warlords of Mars,” things got a little fuzzy and strange. That album received some horrible reviews. It was murky and long-winded. The Dandy Warhols either wanted to test their own boundaries or test their fans’ patience. Truth be told, I enjoyed that record quite a bit. I found its haziness to be interesting and challenging.
Now, however, they have released “Earth to the Dandy Warhols,” and it is an even messier undertaking. It’s as if the members of the band have lost focus and are just aimlessly floating out into space. Perhaps that’s the point, given the title.
The disc opens with “The World Come On.” It’s merely a riff played over and over again for five minutes. It’s a typical riff for them. (It's the kind of riff their arch-rivals, the Brian Jonestown Massacre used to mock them in their song “Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth.”) It could’ve been the basis for a song, but all we hear is singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor yelling as if in the distance. It’s more of a rally cry and not a song. There really is no song here.
Next is “Mission Control.” It would’ve been a decent song if Taylor-Taylor hadn’t decided to sing it in an embarrassingly, ridiculously cartoon-y voice. It would’ve been a nice new-wave-driven work-up. Sadly, it is ruined.
“Welcome to the Third World” plays like a dub-driven, funky mix between the Clash and Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” period. Again, it would’ve made for a decent song if it had anything close to a tune. Instead, Taylor-Taylor just rambles and the point is lost. It becomes empty, hipster funk, which while slightly cool, loses its bite without a sold core to sustain it.
“Wasp in the Lotus” gets slightly better. It at least puts a churning guitar-riff to good use. It recalls some of the best songs from “Odditorium.” It’s still messy, but you can hear a song underneath the dirge.
The album’s first of a few great moments comes from “And Then I Dreamt of Yes.” The song shows the band’s softer side, and shows that when they are firing on all cylinders, they can actually create something memorable. Taylor-Taylor is actually singing a tune! He’s singing at a whisper and it sounds like he’s on the other end of a phone line, but after four virtually useless tracks, there is finally some sort of reward. Taylor-Taylor and his bandmates (Zia McCabe, Peter Holmstrom and Brent DeBoer) sound like a tight, cohesive unit. This is the kind of track that made their earlier albums keepers.
The positive trend continues with “Talk Radio,” a similarly slow-burner with a cool backbeat and some psychedelic touches.
“Love Song” has a cool guitar part and some interesting banjo-work from Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It’s one of the best tracks here, but it again needs more of a tune. It is well-played, though, for what it is.
“Now You Love Me” also plays decently, with a woozy, dub-y center. I feel like I’ve heard it before, though. It seems like it is a Dandy Warhols song by the numbers.
“Mis Amigos” just sounds goofy with its lyrics about “my friends and me.” It’s trying to be winkingly cute, but just winds up sounding precious, even with its drug references. It does have a nice trumpet solo, however.
Stupidity continues to prevail on “The Last of the Outlaw Truckers AKA The Ballad of Sheriff Shorty.” Again, Taylor-Taylor is singing in a strange voice. He wants this to be a send-up to Western-themed road-ready anthems, but coming from an artsy band, it just sounds ridiculous, even if the band does make some effort on the chorus.
“Beast of All Saints” again finds the Dandies working with slower material, which seems to be a winning formula. It works even if it does bring to mind a valium-infused rip on “Stairway to Heaven.”
“Valerie Yum” is a sixties-style work-up. Again, Taylor-Taylor’s vocal affectation brings the track down a few notches, as does the track’s not too subtle drug-referencing. It would make a good three minute song. Sadly, it gets dragged out for seven, complete with slowed-down voices and crazy effects. It ends up being a waste of time.
Speaking of time-sucking chunks of audio, we have now reached the record’s final track. “Musee D’Nougat” lasts nearly fifteen minutes. It consists of a minimal synth-string line and someone muttering in a French accent, reciting recipes and other nonsense. It is pretentious and odd.
On “Earth to the Dandy Warhols,” the band hits a new low. Is this their descent into madness or are they just floating away into the ether? It’s hard to say. There was a time when they made clear, exciting records. This album confuses messiness for innovation. While that tactic worked on “Odditorium” for me, here it falls flat.
“Earth to the Dandy Warhols” is a weak record. It has some strong moments in its center, but ultimately, it is sadly a waste of sixty-nine minutes of your time.
August 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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I think we need to view the dandy warhols in the context of a long term band with a devoted following. That fanbase allows them to stretch it out, and the fans appreciate that the band isn't roped in by their previous records or what the critics say.
Jacob
http://www.ConcertPosterArt.com
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Posted by: Jacob Grossi | Sep 11, 2008 3:18:57 PM
Agree with Jacob...i was at the 930 club show in dc and hearing the songs live adds a lot to them for sure. But hearing some of them on the album does drag out sometimes.
Posted by: Kevin | Sep 26, 2008 1:40:51 PM
Oh,was this album not"clear" or"exciting" enough for you? I could not disagree more. You really should just admit your'e not able to get it. Perhaps Nickleback would be more to your liking.
Posted by: Ed | Mar 23, 2009 6:43:58 PM
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