The Dandy Warhols
Welcome to the Monkey House
Capitol

Over the past few years, the Dandy Warhols have gone from precocious shoegazers to frontrunners. A Vodaphone ad shown widely overseas has given them near-Mobylike fame across Europe, and they hobnob with the likes of David Bowie, who counts himself a fan. With all ears on them, what have the Dandies come up with this time?

Always a band with a sense of roots, the cover of the Dandies' latest effort, Welcome to the Monkey House, combines two of their namesake's biggest contributions to rock, the artwork for Sticky Fingers and The Velvet Underground and Nico. Three years after their 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia, the Dandy Warhols have narrowed their influences around the '80s. The new record drips with new wave cool: synthesizer solos, bouncing fuzz bass, falsetto harmonies, and a thick layer of technology insulating the band from the outside world.

Monkey House opens with a low-fi title track, which begins, "Wire is coming back again, Elastica got sued by them. When Michael Jackson dies, we're covering 'Blackbird.' And won't it be absurd then, when nobody knows the song they just heard, unless someone on the radio tells them first?" At just over a minute it's not much of a song, but it sets the tone of cocky sophistication that runs through much of the album.

The first real song, "We Used to Be Friends," follows, a full-on raveup with funky keyboards from Nick Rhodes (yes that Nick Rhodes), who also produced most of the album, along with Bowie producer Tony Visconti. Rhodes' Duran Duran bandmate Simon LeBon is here, too, doing backup vocals on "Plan A." Throw in Nile Rodgers of Chic, and you get a fat sound that borders on both sides of slickness. Few songs dip below mid-tempo; if you're looking for classic Dandies drone, stick with the old albums. This one's two-step time signatures keep your toes tapping with metronomic precision.

Although Monkey House takes its title from a Kurt Vonnegut collection, the songwriting this time around is, for the most part, less concerned with social observation and existential curiosity than with a series of short-lined conceits. Sometimes, as in "Heavenly," co-written by the resurgent Evan Dando, the lyrics transcend this simplicity to great effect; other times, you find yourself waiting out the verses for the chorus hook. Which, of course, comes through every time. Still, few of the songs approach the power-pop exuberance of The Dandy Warhols Come Down or the closeness of 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia. All too rarely does frontman Courtner Taylor-Taylor adopt the wry Lou Reed croon he does so well.

But despite a faint sheen of cynicism, the Dandies haven't lost their rascally charm. "I Am a Scientist" flirts with novelty song status, sounding like it was recorded in Gary Numan's secret labo-ra-tory, with Taylor singing, "Analysis and freaky sensitivity, we gotta live on science alone." "I Am Over It" begins with a voice murmuring, "Let's try and get this in one toke — take," then the scratch of a lighter and the unmistakable ruffle of smoke through bongwater. "The Dope (Wonderful You)" is an upbeat boy-meets-girl tune without a wink in sight. The last track, "You Come in Burned," builds in the background for about four minutes until you say, "What is this song?" And there are still three minutes to go.

Like 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia, Welcome to the Monkey House is a diverse collection of consistently good songs with little filler. Also like 13 Tales, Monkey House is a departure in style from its predecessor. As a matter of taste, if you liked the Dandies before, you may or may not like this one, and vice versa. But four albums into their career, the Dandy Warhols still haven't released a clunker. The Velvet Underground were done after their fourth release; let's hear where the Dandies go next.

— J. Daniel Janzen (dan at clownyard dot com)