Dandy Warhols strike back with retro-tinged album

Colorado Daily
by Wendy Kale
August 28, 2003

The '80s are back again. TV is debuting the new sitcom "The Mullets" this fall and The Dandy Warhols just borrowed Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes to produce their new vintage-sounding CD "Welcome to the Monkey House."
A call back to the '80s, the Warhols' new record borrows heavily from the sound of the MTV era and then builds modern ambient tech sounds into the new tunes. "Welcome to the Monkey House" is rich in lush hooks and pop melodies and it's gaining the Warhols more notoriety than the band has accrued in its 10-year history.

"Our band was a direct reaction to all the grunge groups, and in the '90s we thought we'd be the first ones to be over it. We always wanted to have cool, sexy, stoner music, and what we always like to challenge ourselves with new music. The band wanted to take out our wall of guitar for this new record and give more room for the other instruments to be explored," said Warhol's keyboardist Zia McCabe.

"Welcome to the Monkey House" is The Dandy Warhols' fourth album. The record not only brought in Rhodes, but fellow Duran Duran member Simon Le Bon for guest vocals and the Lemonheads' Evan Dando for songwriting aid on the tune "You Were the Last High."

"This was going to be a dub record when we first started, but then we started working with Nick Rhodes. His subtle '80s sound has a distinct style and he had a different approach to production. We kept our three-chord songs, but we got rid of our slamming wall of guitar, and just used it for effect. Nick helped us focus more on the drum and bass beats and they came off more sophisticated," explained McCabe.

The Warhols' new CD is just debuting in the states, but it's already a hit in Europe. The band just came back from a two-month tour of Europe and Australia, and it's getting pumped for its new U.S. tour. The only problem -- McCabe explained that the band's three-year absence from U.S. clubs has put them back in smaller rooms. The group now has to gain its momentum back in the States, despite the fact that they play arenas overseas.

The Warhol's biggest coup of the year was drawing the attention of legendary rocker David Bowie. The Dandy Warhols have now been chosen to be Bowie's opening act on his fall European tour. The tour kicks off October 7 in Copenhagen and ends up Nov. 26 at London's 40,000-seat Wembley Arena.

"We were playing the Glastonbury Festival and Bowie was standing by the side of the stage singing our lyrics," revealed McCabe. "Things are just happening so fast this time out that it's all kind of surreal. This is our first record that's generating this much press and it's pretty exciting. We'd just like to be known again in the states. Rock radio in the U.S. is slow to change, and for bands like us, its like crossing the Grand Canyon."