Combining psych-rock, shoegaze, power pop, synth pop, and more with the cheeky detachment of their pop-art namesake, the Dandy Warhols are equally skilled at heady reveries and satirical pop. Early on, they scored hits with “Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth” (from their 1997 major-label debut, The Dandy Warhols Come Down ) and “Bohemian Like You” (from 2001’s Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia), both of which skewered hipster culture with a wit that suggested they were America’s answer to Brit-pop. Later in the 2000s, they dabbled in synth-pop on 2003’s Welcome to the Monkey House (featuring Veronica Mars theme “We Used To Be Friends) and indulged their excesses on 2005’s sprawling Odditorium or Warlords of Mars. Though more restrained efforts such as 2016’s Distortland suggested the Dandy Warhols might be mellowing out in their third decade, 2019’s freewheeling Why You So Crazy proved they were committed to keeping their listeners guessing. 2020’s Tafelmuzik Means More When You’re Alone pushed the envelope even further with nearly four hours of mostly instrumental exploration. 2024’s ROCKMAKER sees the Dandys get the lead out, with heavy raw punk and metal guitar riffs reclaimed from the knuckledraggers.
