The Dandy Warhols – Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

A Mighty Wind

By the end of the great war, the Dandy Warhols had progressed far beyond the traditional jug band sound – true words spoken by noted A&E journalist Bill Kurtis on the opening track of Odditorium or Warlords of Mars, the Warhols’ latest. While it’s not clear what war he refers to, we are indeed witness to a metamorphosis from alternative rock to a more dance beat derivative.
Bass and drum are the blood to this new body of work. The staunch beat is found in nearly every song, repeating incessantly throughout the album. “Holding Me Up,” one of the most endearing, key tracks kicks off with twenty seconds of guitar frantically searching for the downbeat. The point where drums and bass enter is an incredibly satisfying start. Complete with handclaps, the groove created is precisely why the Dandy Warhols prevail. However, roughly three minutes into the cut the relentless beat grows old. With nothing changing but volume, you’re forced to wait four minutes for the fade-out. A worse case scenario is the final song, “A Loan Tonight,” turning in a whopping twelve-minute cacophony. Harsh sounds accompanied by a strict beat allowing no movement create nothing but dead weight.

Lengthiness aside, the Dandy Warhols exhibit their strength in having fun. “All the Money or the Simple Life” is a dead ringer to “Takin’ Care of Business.” Breaking in with horns and cutting straight through to the upbeat familiarity of the 70s classic, it’s impossible not to dance. The seemingly modernized, sexed-up sounds of Donovan Leitch are hypothesized on “Easy,” the bass happy, enrapturing cut.

On a track-by-track basis, Odditorium is movin’ and groovin’, but culminated together the pace gets old.