Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

by

The Dandy Warhols

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I don't buy the whole pre- and post-Dig argument, that the Dandy Warhols are a different band after the documentary just because of the exposure they received. I still hear them making generally the same kind of groovy, loose music they were making in the late '90s. Sure they continue to try out new ideas, but we wouldn't want or expect them to put out the same exact CD ten times, would we? I particularly enjoyed the new songs "Everyone Is Totally Insane" and "Down Like Disco." This may not be their best work ever, but the Odditorium is still worth a visit. (However, it is not a 5-star album... For those who rate every CD they like as 5 stars, how do you distinguish between the good, the excellent, and the truly awesome? If all are 5 stars, what's the difference between them? Five stars should be reserved for enduring classics.)

The Dandy Warhols are bred from a rare seed in today's music scene. One where you put your artistic integrity and fans over the quick sale and the glitz and glamour of MTV. To be perfectly honest, to see The Dandys in anything larger than a club would be a contradiction in terms. They are the essence of a fan's band and this is evident during their live shows when they play for 3 hours and take several audience requests (let's see Coldplay do that). With this in mind you have to see "Odditorium or Warlords of Mars" as the next logical step in their evolution. Those of us that were with them from the beginning remember the 8 minute dronings of "Dick" off The Dandy's debut LP or the nearly 30 minute 3 part drug rave "It's A Fast Driving Rave Up With The Dandy Warhols", so for us the new tunes with their excessive length and spaced out chords are no suprise. However the new generation Dandy fans could find themselves at a loss for words. 2003's "Welcome To The Monkey House" presented a whole new Dandy Warhols to the nation, one that was into creating catchy little pop hooks and making colorful tv friendly videos. That was not the band you thought you knew. "Odditorium" IS The Dandy Warhols.

As for the album itself it is a difficult listen at first and the song lengths could make you yearn for the skip button on your cd player, however upon repeated listens you will find whole new depths to the music that seem to grow with each listen. "Love Is The New Feel Awful" and "Everyone Is Totally Insane" are up there with "BE IN" and "Bohemian Like You" as some of the best stuff they've ever done. Yes, the album does drag and lack in parts "A Loan Tonight" is not a very good song and "The New Country" although cute and humorous would have been better served as a B-Side. But even with these short comings this album does not deserve the bad rep it is getting from the reviewers. All the major magazines lambasted this record as a faliure but we Dandy fans know different. Give this album a shot and you won't be disappointed The Dandy Warhols are a dying breed so let's support them and the artistic prowess or else all we'll be left with is "Fall Out Boy" and "Three Doors Down". Personally I'd rather be deaf.

Spotlight Tracks - Love Is The New Feel Awful, Everyone Is Totally Insane, All The Money Or The Simple Life Honey

Disappointing Tracks - A Loan Tonight, The New Country, Colder Than The Coldest Winter Was Cold