This Machine
In some ways this is both a rebirth and a retrospective. For me, This Machine is easily the best Dandy’s album since the pop-party of Welcome to the Monkey House way back in 2003. Output since then has been rather dodgy, and I nearly didn’t bother getting This Machine because of recent turkeys and based on the fact that it was followed by a swathe of terrible reviews. Luckily I got it anyway: there’s lots to enjoy here, especially as the band seems to hop genres with ease throughout, calling to mind the full range of their earlier output. Previous Dandy Warhols albums, good or bad, have consistently been different from each other – nobody can accuse the Dandy’s of ever sitting still. This Machine plays something like a best of that doesn’t actually include the original songs. ‘Enjoy Yourself’ was surely on Welcome to the Monkey House
(right?), and both ‘Alternative Power to the People’ and ‘Sad Vacation’ belong
on the flawed but fun Odditorium or Warlords of Mars. There’s also
occasionally a return the comparative palatability of Thirteen Tales from
Urban Bohemia (both ‘Rest Your Head’ and ‘I Am Free’ could bother the
radio). Not a bad track throughout: a
super, if disjointed, return to form.
Feels a bit like they may be saying goodbye, though. We’ll see.