The Dandy Warhols Odditorium or Warlords Of Mars Release Date : September 13, 2005. Label: Capitol. Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. So the Dandys made the same album for a while, then they got all country on us with 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia, and then David Bowie came swooping in to dance-glamify the band on their next album. But with Odditorium... we are back with the old formula. The Dandys are nothing if not unpredictable. I don't know where this will lead. Half the songs just jamout like a show-ender, and by half way through the album, I'm not sure how many songs I actually heard. They all blend into one another and they all seem to have a very similar feel. This band is like a familiar blanket, warm, comforting, matches everything you own, and you can lie under it and wig out for ages without thinking too hard. The old standby. Many points on the disc are improvised-sounding, and knowing them, probably were. "Everyone Is Totally Insane" is marvelous. "A Loan Tonight" is marvelous. I think what I like about this extended track is that I was walking home from the bus after work while listening to it and I found that song has such a perfect stride to it. Perfect thudding walking beat. Determined. Sexy. This is such a song for a fashion show. I can easily imagine this being pumped out through some posh London room while hundreds of lithe, near death supermodels strut back and forth in flowy, opulent haute couture, looking pissed off and nonchalant. And they probably are kind of pissed off because all they've been allowed to eat all day is a cracker with an aspirin on it. Okay maybe that's unfair, but come on, there's one way to get those vicious expressions painted onto those high-cheekboned faces. The Dandy Warhols themselves, though, are superstar supermodels - they have a style you cannot mistake. Yes, bits of this album sound alarmingly recycled from albums passed. There's very specific things you can pick out - the understated guitar line in "There Is Only This Time" that sounds a lot like an old riff from (I believe... my disc doesn't have a track listing) "Earth To The Dandy Warhols" off of the infamous (and now released!) Black Album. The flow of the lines, the meter of everything... you know it's the Dandys. When they get creative, they get reeeeally creative. And the rest of the time, they stick to their formula... Taylor-Taylor's vocals bouncing between high-pitched strains and breathy lows... signature guitars, that strong acoustic strum, tambourines... but the thing is, even though those songs go on and on without end... it's such a great sound! It was bred for dancing and making out. There's no guesswork - you put on a Dandy Warhols album, you're gonna be liplocked before the first chorus. Or on drugs. Or dancing like fuck. Or all three.... most likely all three. That's the way they'd want it. And it also sort of makes me want to walk down Electric Avenue. Listen to "A Loan Tonight..." you'll know what I mean. Song of choice : Somewhere between "Everyone Is Totally Insane" and "A Loan Tonight" lies my love. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere The Dandy Warhols website Published : November, 2005.