Welcome To The Monkey House, the latest release by Portland’s Dandy Warhols proves once again this band can change it up like the best of them. Consisting of thirteen tracks, this predominately Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) produced CD puts the Dandy’s on an eighties-Bowie-Duran Duran-Hip Hoppy cruise with mad synth sounds, phat bass, the sarcastic lyricism or Courtney Taylor and the droned out stone grooves similar to Godless.
This disk opens strong with the single We Used to Be Friends and carry’s nicely to Plan, a carnival-esqe tune complete with ‘breathy ‘ lyrics, the kind that make my chick get all wet. “There must be some kind of planet for those of us can’t manage,” sings Taylor, and if there were, we’d all be there. Move on to I Am A Scientist and we get the sick bass I mentioned above, this track reminds me of an homage to Sir Mix A Lot, a cool hip hop track with club appeal, this one booms for all the ‘Jeep Ass Nigga’s’.
Other standout tracks are Insincere; You Were the Last High complete with great effects and great jangly guitars. The closer You Come in Burned is an excellent track and has the feeling of older Dandy material. The tracks are complete with David Bowie riffs and Duran Duran synths and productions which blend this CD into an ethereal soundscape painting that only the Dandy’s could provide thus returning them to the forefront of American risk takers. This band might not seem that big to you here in the US, but rest assured, these guys are VIP’s worldwide and much respected by the musical community at large. Support the US, support the Dandy’s.
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