Customer Reviews

Welcome to the Monkey House

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you are a fan of Britpop-sounding guitar bands (Radiohead, Blur, Suede, Stone Roses) then this American band is worth a listen for sure.

While more popular overseas than in their own country (perhaps from the use of so many of their songs in TV commercials), the Dandys do have a strong and loyal following stateside, and this particular album certainly has expanded their audience base. Perhaps the recent inclusion of "We Used To Be Friends" in an episode of Fox's new hit series "The OC" will continue to draw even more fans.

Welcome To The Monkey House is an experimental album, much like the last few Radiohead albums have been. The band's guitar riffs have become somewhat subdued, taking a back seat to the ever present electronic sounds courtesy in part to Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, who produced the album. While some diehard fans frowned upon the band's direction with this album, it is a brilliant album spawning three equally great singles, "We Used To be Friends," "The Last High" and "Plan A"

After the short and mellow title track intro, "We Used To Be Friends" launches the album into an electronic groove guaranteed to leave you up for several nights trying to get the infectious "ah aha a ha... ah aha a ha..." or the high ranged "Come on now honey, bring it on, bring it on yeah...." out of your heads. Complete with the fabulous Daniel Ash-like vocal delivery by Courtney Taylor-Taylor, this is indeed a stand out track.

"Plan A" slows things down somewhat with a bit more guitar and Taylor-Taylor's wonderful falsetto "Oh there must be some kind of planet...." swirling throughout the song. A brilliant soundscape and one of my favorites on the CD.

"Wonderful You" complete with its pulsating electronic beats and syncopated breaths, sounds like an early 80's club song reinvented and "Scientist" sounds like an electronic aural assault against Oingo Boingo's "Weird Science." It is very good and could have easily made single number 4. Out of all of the songs, this is the most synthesized track on the album.

"The Last High" is a fantastic tongue and cheek ballad lamenting a failed relationship. Clearly, the lyrics suggest that the person is trying to show that he's so much better off now with great lyrics like "I am alone, but adored, by a 100,000 more, than I said when you were the last... and I have known love, ..., by at least 10,000 more, than I swore, when you were the last..." Yet, by the time the chorus arrives, the tone becomes a bit more moody. Eventually, you realise things are not fine, and he's sadly waiting by the phone. "Maybe you love me, and maybe you don't... maybe you'll call me, maybe you won't... oh" and that last "oh" sounds so disappointed that it just adds that final touch to a perfectly executed song.

The rest of the album is just as fabulous, and from start to finish a stellar CD for sure. Intelligent and humourous lyrics, avant garde instrumentation (for the Dandys anyway) with no loss in song quality, and Courtney Taylor-Taylor's crooning lower register vocals complimenting his unstrained falsetto, makes this such a refreshing album. Nothing else sounds like this, and music has been so boring lately. The Dandy Warhols just come in and throw convention out of the window and it couldn't sound any better.

Seek out the import singles from this album, as they contain some great b-side covers (Blondie, Frankie Goes To Hollywood) and mixes, including a great rework of "Everyday Is A Holiday".

Fans of Daniel Ash / Love and Rockets should really give this a spin, as Taylor-Taylor's lower register should sound a bit familliar.

A must have album, and one of the best for 2003.

The Dandy Warhols have obviously taken a different direction with there music style and thats not a bad thing. Fans shouldn't expect another "13 Tales" or certainly not "Come Down" for that matter. What fans should expect is the unexpected with The Dandy Warhols. That's half the fun in buying the CD/listening to samples. You never know what Taylor-Taylor will say. His wittiness in lyrics and the collaborative efforts of Pete, Zia, Brent, and of course Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran are ambitious and simply fun.

1 & 2. Welcome to the Monkey House/ We Used to be Friends (8/10) The minute long intro with just Taylor-Taylor singing and accompanied by a fuzzy guitar isn't the best song around but it is an intro. 'We Used to be Friends' is really fun and catchy. It melds elecro-pop wonderfully.

3. Plan A (6/10) It's a pretty much steady song. Not much excitment but still solid enough to keep your attention.

4. The Dope (Wonderful You)(7/10) I've read that this one is not even listenable. I beg to differ. It's a great pop song with good beats and the addition of Taylor-Taylor's wavy vocals make it better.

5. Scientist (10/10) This is where the album really picks up and you forget about everything else you just heard (if you wern't satisfied with the previous). I love this song. It's so eighties. Yet it's so modern. It's really quirky and extremly catchy.

6. I am Over It (9/10) Taylor Taylor's drowning vocals are pitch perfect. The guitar is used very well and good sound effects :) and as always catchy catchy.

7. The Dany Warhols Love Almost Everyone (10/10) Very poppy and energetic! I love it! The only thing I wish is that it were longer! It's about 2 minutes.

8. Insincere (7/10) Aww. Yes. Now it's time to calm down. One could assume that this is "Monkey House's" "Sleep". Though not as entoxicating, it's enough to make you close your eyes and drift away.

9. You Were The Last High (10/10) It's the song that everyone's talking about. Why? It's just dreamy. If this song were ice cream, it'd be a hot fudge sundae with sprinkles, lots of whipped cream and a cherry on top. Yeah. It's that good.

10. Heavenly (7/10) I really can't describe this song musically but the chorus vocals are really haunting. It's like hearing a man with a deep voice singing a high pich note. It's creepy.

11. I Am Sound (10)10) Another 10/10. This is truely one of those songs that get lost amongst the other good songs. Don't be fooled by the dopey piano in the begining. Listen to words and you'll see. It also has a terrific hand sway chorus. It's brilliant!

12. Hit Rock Bottom (10/10) It's the T-Rex inspired, old fashined rock song. There's enough guitar play and hand claps to make anyone satisfied.

13. (You Come In) Burned (6/10) Come on it's the final song. Lets let them experiment for about. . . seven and a half minutes. It's pretty interesting.

I hope that people who read this who possibly haven't heard of The Dandy Warhols or are even a big fan of theirs but missed something with this album to really take time to LISTEN to it and appreciate the ambition, the creativity, and the originality, that "Monkey House" offers. It's definitly on my best list for this year.

First of all, if any of you have read my reviews before; you know I absolutely love it when a band refuses to fit into a pigeon hole. When an artist completely changes their direction (for better or worse), I applaud them. The Dandies have done just that with this CD. WTTMH has every kind of tune around. From the house rocking opening track to Bronski Beat flavored numbers, there is even a 70's AOR bringing down the stadium song.

They must have been listening to tons of 80's bands for the direction they take on here. Love and Rockets and the Bronski Beat do come to mind quite often.

1) Welcome to the monkey house: crunchy electric guitar. Great for a show into/opener.

2) We used to be friends: one of the best driving songs around. Punchy power chords and a big 80's chorus.

3) Plan A: Body swaying beats, Jimmy Somerville inspired vocals

4) Wonderful you: Electro Rick James beat, Vocals from the Daniel Ash handbook.

5) Scientist: Freaking amazing song! Catchy, eccentric, if you like "Discotheque" by U2, you'll love this.

6) I am over it: One of the sexiest songs to come out in recent years. Deep breathy vocals reminiscent of Love and Rockets.

7) The Dandy Warhols love almost everyone: Awesome, catchy as hell, very 80's.

8) Insincere: Spaced out 60's flavored, far out man!

9) The Last High: Bowing to Bowie on this cut, "We all know Major Toms a junkie," (get the reference?) They Dandies do.

10) Heavenly: Just a plain great song.

11) I am Sound: Probably one of the best songs on this CD.

12) Rock Bottom: This one has Marc Bolan all over it, great song.

13) (You come in) Burned: Allow them their fun (for about 7 minutes) This is a pretty damned good song, eccentric. If you listen carefully, I belive this one has parts from every song on the CD.

I hope you give this CD a chance and appreciate it for what it is. A Band that doesn't want to be lumped into one sound, so they try something new, maybe heavily influenced by the past, but isn't that where all musicians take their cues?

I bought Thirteen Tales a couple of years back with fairly low expectations. In fact I bought even after hearing a couple of people trash it outright. I thought Not if You Were The Last Junkie on Earth was so cool when it came out, but the CD, aside from Minnersota, which I LOVED, was so-so, not bad, just not great. I just loved Thirteen Tales and I'm here to tell you I going against a couple of other reviewers who didn't like this CD. I think it rules. These guys march to their own drummer and there's nothing better in what passes for "rock" these days, alternative or otherwise. I have had The Postal Service, Welcome to The Monkey House, and Interpol in my CD player for a week straight. That's saying a ton because I own 3000 CDs. I really like this band. I live in Boston and if I didn't already have a ticket to The Red Hot Chili Peppers/Queens of The Stone Age concert tomorrow night I'd be going to see these guys. There isn't a bad cut on this CD, throwaway or otherwise. If you liked Thirteen Tales you will like this too, trust me. This band is very cool.

As a Dandy Warhol newcomer, I was pleased to find that MONKEY HOUSE displayed none of the weaknesses of ODDITORIUM. In fact, some of this CD's strongest tracks suggest the mid-1970s work of David Bowie. And that's a very good thing, as it means there are bona-fide quality songs here. (BTW, Bowie apparently asked the group to open for one of his tours in 2003, the year this project came out. Coincidence?)

This album is a tribute to a Kurt Vonnegut short story collection, but one needn't be familiar with that author to recognize how excellent some of the pop herein is. It's laid-back, catchy, and sometimes stupidly goofy, as with the song "I Am a Scientist." ("I am a scientist... I try to live on science alone..." [repeat many times]).

Don't get me wrong; this isn't a perfect album; in fact, only five of its songs are good, but those five are very, VERY good indeed. (For the record, they are "We Used to Be Friends," the afore-mentioned science song, "The Dandy Warhols Love Almost Everyone," "The Last High," and "I Am Sound.")

I really do not see what everyone is bitching about- this album does not contain one bad song. Which is light years above what I can say for most albums I have heard, even the "classics"; most albums have at least two or three skippers. I bought Urban Bohemia and could not stop listening to it for months, then bought Monkey House and that one is still on repeat in the player. I see no relation to "lame 80's music" and especially not Duran Duran whatsoever- they use keyboards, but in a completely original way that they make their own. This album makes me extremely happy and I am glad to have discovered the Dandies.

After years of listening to complex progressive/fusion and morbid death rock I found myself very attracted to the simplicity, catchy riffs and dark edge of the Dandy Warhols a couple of years ago. "Heroin is so passe...," "Feeling so Bohemian like you..." - these refrains still bounce around in my head 2 years later. If you can find their version of CSN&Y's "Ohio" get it.

I was hoping for the same with this album and definitely got it. "We used to be friends" and "Plan A" are at the top of my list.

The falsetto took a little getting used to but after about 10 listenings I'm completely hooked.

Before early this year, I had never even heard of the Dandy Warhols. That is, it wasn't until my Psychology professor played "We Used To Be Friends" on the first day of class and I immediately fell in love. It was just catchy and innovative. I ran out and bought "Welcome to the Monkey House" right after class and it never left my CD player for almost 2 weeks!

This band is unlike anything I have ever heard before, and I am a HUGE music fan. I don't know how this band ever stayed out of my listening range for so long, but I'm glad I've discovered them. Every song on this CD is unique and amazing, and that seems to be kind of a difficult thing to accomplish for some musicians, but the Dandy Warhols have achieved it with flying colors! They have quickly became my favorite band, hands down. As far as I'm concerned, there's a song on this album for everybody. For anyone that has any type of music appreciation whatsoever, you will like this album!

This album, although it has all of the pop sensabilites that Taylor-Taylor demonstrated on their previous albums, seems to be a bit of a departure from their previous work. The band takes on a much more electronic feel to its music as opposed to being a bouncy, single-laden, guitar based album.

More than any other record to come from the Warhols, this emerges as a single piece as opposed to songs thrown on an album. Thirteen Tales seemed to be headed in this direction, but with Welcom they have perfected it. It's difficult to really poin out any album-defining songs, but there certainly are melodies throughout the album which seem to showcase Taylor-Taylor's ability to present a pop-friendly hook and write thoughtful lyrics that don't make it cliche or boring. I Am Sound is the perfect example as it seems oddly familiar in sound, but with the lyrics it proves itself to be one of the best songs on the album.

Something that cannot be excluded from the review of the CD ar the extras - a short and ironic film by Taylor-Taylor which showcases among others Scott Weiland. Funny and depressing. The CD al;so comes with a pass to the on-line Odditorium, whic presents a series of Warhol outtakes, sort films and other fun stuff to surf through.

For any Warhol fan this album is a must. If you haven't heard them yet, try out Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia first - if you like that, you'll love this.

The latest album from the Dandys is something totally different from the group. 'Welcome to the Monkey House' is like a previous reviewer has stated steeped into the best bits of 1980s music. Yet, it still somehow manages to sound like the Warhols. It's an outstanding album and every track is wonderful, you won't be skipping any. This is one of the strongest albums of this year. Very Highly Recommeded!