THE DANDY WARHOLS

The Dandy Warhols exists 22 years now. In all that time the band has never choosen the easy way. The second album, The Dandy Warhols Come Down, was the ultimate wet dream of every indiefan. You know, melancholic catchy songs and some sing-along songs such as Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth or Every Day Should Be A Holiday.

Although the band appeared in the hippest fashion magazines, the music became more obscure with each album and like more psychedelic rock without denying the own sound. As expected, hits were no longer scored, and even if the new record contains a solid track as Styggo, it is obvious that the four no longer have the urge to storm the charts.

Distortland is a very quirky album, and the now 48-year-old Courtney Taylor-Taylor has nothing to prove. The band is wise enough to realize that this might be the last record the fans want to listen to, because they get older by the day, and The Dandy Warhols will not gather many new fans.

No concessions, just ten tracks on which The Dandy Warhols is not afraid to experiment, even though the songs always remain within the lines of indie pop. It does take some effort though. Search Party seems at first hearing just a trifle, but the more you hear the track, the more oppressive this psychedelic indie song sounds.

And of course there is that typical melancholy that often accompanies junky grief, something the band of Portland has a patent on. Catcher In The Rye (how could it be otherwise with such a title) shows that the bandmembers have not forgotten this art.

Distortland is certainly not the best album by The Dandy Warhols, but it gives us an immense pleasure to greet these old heroes again!

Didier BECU
09/12/2016