The Dandy Warhols – Distortland

'Distortland' is reasonably experimental and better for it, but somewhat familiar all the same....
The Dandy Warhols : DIstortland
7.7 Dine Alone
2016 

The Dandy Warhols : DIstortlandDistortland is reasonably experimental and better for it, but somewhat familiar all the same. The more pop rock of The Dandy Warhols’ ‘90s heyday seems to be behind them. Though not entirely new or varied, tracks and jams such as “Grow Up Song” or ”Doves” are at least similar to say singles like “Godless” or “Arpeggio Adaggio”, which makes any similarities still relevantly good, and many songs trail into such a place that fuzzed or wildernesses happiness lies in wait.

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Then and still summarily trying to clean it up without losing their old wit and even where new city rock wave creeps in, are the roads of interesting guitar and fuzzy breakdowns, with some jaunty riffing.

Unfortunately the song ”Reverend Jim” borrows a little too much from the past, but “Catcher in the Rye” is sort of perfecting the alternative meditation of bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Built to Spill, Pavement or The The (their contemporaries). This is interesting and appealingly styled, however it does stray far from their past in the calm.

The musicianship is amazing, and at least they seem to be enjoying themselves. ”STYGGO”, though, is not very good and in “Give” and others like ”You are Killing Me”, they play some toned down version of themselves, silly, debatably better, but not the worst thing ever called on for their ninth album since their mainstream heyday popularity.

Really a new self and opening of attitude in and out of guitar and a dreamy, idly fashioned, trippy, beautifying, wanderlust landscape is seen in “Catcher in The Rye” or in a line such as, “Before you started killing me.” Songs finishing the newest release, Distortland, sound of new age Dandy Warhols, the like of which are imperfect yet experimentally worthy. Each piece says something interesting, see “All the Girls in London” and then there is “Doves”, ”Semper Fidelis”, and ”Search Party”. The album cover and spirit, via the songs will be catchier, cathartic, rocky, jauntier, jazzier, and the better for that. It could remind one of those old sayings and is good for it, ”Reviewing the reviewers.”

Plus, it may be forthcoming as they will have, thoroughly and lyrically speaking. Imperfect, but solidly done.

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