Portland, Oregon-based Psych Rock band The Dandy Warhols are devotees of experimentation. That in mind, their 12th album Rockmaker, out on March 15, 2024 via Sunset Blvd. Records, takes them down a new road as they incorporate a heavier, even more guitar-driven sound. People expect their music to keep changing with each release, and with that Rockmaker delivers some interesting new insights about The Dandy Warhols, how they think about music, plus what they find entrancing about heaviness.
Lead Singer/Guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor has said that the sound arose from a desire to hear “heavy raw punk and metal guitar riffs” handled differently than might be expected and also that they made music which they wanted to hear, but could not find elsewhere. While they were inspired by bands they love, the bigger truth about the sound is that it is a new invention filtered through many things fans have come to expect from The Dandy Warhols. And it is quite a persuasive invention at that.
An early single, and one that helps us approach the album’s experimentation, is “Summer of Hate.” Inspired by the experience of Portland, Oregon’s ragged state during the summer of 2020, facing ‘riot and destruction,’ the song is both heavy and fluid, constantly shifting. That in mind, the vocal lines are almost laid over the musical movement, dropping key phrases to evoke the ever-present state of anxiety. Although, the more trippy aspect of the track is that somewhere in its core sound and certainly in its speed, it has all the excitement of a ’60s Spy film soundtrack.
However, the song from the album that has understandably gotten the most attention so far is “I’d Like To Help You With Your Problems” featuring Slash. While Slash brings a hypnotic depth and resonance to it, there is an unusual groove to things that is scintillating. With light, drifting vocal elements that build heavily on repetition for a dark feel, the song is a real earworm with a kind of gravity that few Rock songs achieve. The real test of its appeal is that when it goes on longer than expected, it is a pleasant surprise rather than a stretch of the attention span.
One thing that is also particularly noticeable about Rockmaker is that a number of songs have rather sparse lyrics, but that is not the case on “Danzig With Myself.” There is an almost stream-of-consciousness roll to the all-too-relevant lyrics about the nature of deception. High, falsetto vocals and a brightness to the composition reinforce the sense of an untouchable inner state. The Pixies’ Black Francis, aka Frank Black, brings a real delicacy to the guitar work on this track that blends so well with The Dandy Warhols that it seems like an almost intuitive fit. Black also plays on “Love Thyself,” which has the rhythm of an Indie Rock song and might give audiences a stronger sense of continuity with the band’s past work.
All together, the breadth of sound choices across the album itself is impressive, and a cut like “The Root of All Evil” completes the picture. It is surprisingly poppy at first, but soon descends into a combination of heavy elements and Funk with all the buoyancy of a jam-band at work. The track’s theme – that the root of all evil is not exactly money, but ‘desire,’ is persuasive and combines with meaningful observations about human nature.
It is clear that different songs on Rockmaker pursue different sound-goals and intentions; and not all of them are built to be thunderously heavy. The ones that do dive into that deep end are very satisfying and successful experiments. The ones that work toward a finer stitching together of heavier and lighter elements are equally worthy of a close listen. If you love guitar music and guitar traditions, Rockmaker deserves your attention. If you like to see The Dandy Warhols continue to reinvent themselves while remaining somehow recognizable, you will appreciate the album just the same. For that reason, Cryptic Rock gives Rockmaker 4 out of 5 stars.
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