Search - Dandy Warhols :: Dandy's Rule OK? (The Dandy Warhols)

They rule... OK?

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 03/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Few bands start off sounding as polished as the Dandy Warhols do in "Dandy's Rule, OK?" While this Portland debut isn't the best that they've done, and they clearly lack musical direction, the final third of the album is a sonic masterpiece... and the rest of it ain't bad either.The opener of "Dandy's Rule, OK?" just barely avoids being pretentious, with the here-we-are "Introduction by Young Tom" and the catchy but painfully simplistic "Dandy Warhol's T.V. Theme Song Lyrics" (sample lyric: "Hey La, See Saw/Hey Ra, Hee Ha"). But with the growling guitar kicking off "Ride," it's clear that they've gotten their footing with some slow, ponderous rock. It shifts into peppy pot rock ("(Tony, This Song Is Called) Lou Weed") and mid-tempo psychedelic pop ("Nothin' To Do," "Dick"). The album climaxes in a big way with: a three-track, twenty-two minute sonic sweep that starts with the eerie "Prelude: It's A Fast Driving Rave Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes," before speeding up into the experimental-rock "It's A Fast Driving Rave Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes" and finishing with the increasingly ominous "Finale: It's A Fast Driving Rave Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes."At their worst, the Dandy Warhols resemble basic imitators of seventies rock. At their best (the grand finale), they resemble the Flaming Lips, with their shimmering alt-rock and unusual instrumentation (is that an alarm clock I hear?). They come across as a "fun" band -- the sort of music that is nice to listen to, without trying to be deep.This is the psychedelica that dates back to classic 60s and 70s alt-rock: Drugs, bohemian ponderings and a healthy ability to flip between the gritty and the ethereal. And it's a bit more exploratory than the band's later albums, poking around musically to see where it belongs. Your basic guitars, bass and synthesizers form a shimmery, slightly gritty wall of sound (sufficiently that you won't notice weak lyrics like "I'm gonna know everything/know everything that was true/seen everything I could see/been everything I could be...").Urban and tinged with the bohemian, "Dandy's Rule OK?" is a nice debut from a moderately talented band. Certainly worth checking out for fans of psychedelic rock-pop."

This is my first review - I feel that strongly about this cd

Berndt Jung | San Francisco, CA | 03/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Other's have already gone into detail of why this is such a great album, and I only want to reiterate that. I actually bought this album after I having bought the second and third albums. This is my favorite to date. The record has a live sound, and is less produced than there newer two records. If you hear this record you will want to see them live. I know I do."

You absolutely MUST buy this album

BlueWolfO))))))) | HereNow | 04/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the psychedelic pop rock masterpiece of our post modern times. these guys are tight, tight, tight!! they're like an engine of sound.i've been listening to this album since i was 15 and it still gets me everytime, you cannot go wrong with this album"