Give the Dandy Warhols credit on a few levels. In a left field move that's either prescient or just true to their muse, the Portland, Oregon, quartet abandoned their indie rock guitars in favor of synths and keyboards on their latest, Welcome to the Monkey House. Credit due, part two -- the band had the good sense to bring in a man who knows a thing or two about synth-heavy pop records: Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, who besides twiddling the knobs, plays synth on a few of Monkey House's tracks, when Zia McCabe isn't leading with her keyboards.
Sure, there's a new musical approach, but Welcome to the Monkey House is hardly the departure it could have been (for better or worse). Lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor still swings from breathy verses to falsetto choruses (on too many songs to list), and songs both ethereal ("Insincere", "Heavenly") and funky ("Wonderful You", the garage-y "Rock Bottom") still rule the day. Of course, there's the One Insanely Catchy Single, "We Used to be Friends". Following in the tradition of "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" and "Bohemian Like You", "Friends", with its infectious handclaps and McCabe's warm, friendly bassline (she pulls double duty on bass and keys) meeting the synths halfway, leaves you wondering if it's a blessing or a curse that every Dandy Warhols album features only one Insanely Catchy Single.
"Friends" is the best example of the triumph of the new-sound Warhols, but there are plenty others. Simon LeBon and Rhodes guest on the dreamy "Plan A", and their contributions (vocals and keyboards, respectively), are a fine match for Peter Loew's guitar groove. And '80s keyboards are the perfect delivery system for the new-wavey "Scientist"; with mechanical lines like "We've got to live on science alone", Thomas Dolby would be proud.
Monkey House is not all happy synths, though. "Insincere", "The Last High", and "Heavenly" all evoke (though they don't match) the narcotic noir of the Warhols' 2000 gem, Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia -- though that druggy haze is no doubt aided by the fact that former Lemonhead frontman Evan Dando (no stranger to narco-pop) co-wrote "The Last High" w/ Taylor-Taylor. Of course, the tune is hamstrung by rock star in-jokes: "It was Chicago for a moment / And then it was Paris and London for a few days" and "I am alone but adored". If you listen closely, you can hear the world's smallest violin playing in the background of the song.
There are a few other missteps along the way. "Insincere"'s synth powers up for takeoff, but gets left on the runway. "Wonderful You"'s burbling keyboards are guilty of running long past the point of having anything to say, as does the jungle/techno beat of album closer "(You Come In) Burned". And you'd think that Rhodes, of all people, would've told the Warhols that synth pop goes hand in hand with cocaine, not marijuana, as "I Am Over It" opens with the sound of a massive bong hit and goes downhill from there.
Welcome to the Monkey House and the Dandy Warhols' new sound isn't going to win over legions of new fans and propel the band to superstardom, but neither will it alienate their existing fanbase. In a year that's seen a number of '90s acts attempt to remain vital (Blur, Metallica) with varying degrees of success, Welcome to the Monkey House is, pardon the pun, a fine natural evolution of the Dandy Warhols.
— 3 October 2003
