The Dandy Warhols: Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars

Herald rating: * * *

On the recent music documentary, DIG!, about the relationship between the Dandy Warhols and San Francisco band the Brian Jonestown Massacre (BJM), you see how the Dandys' front man Courtney Taylor is in awe of the songwriting genius of the volatile Anton Newcombe from BJM.

In the past, Taylor has come close to this genius with the psychedelic indie pop perfection of songs like Bohemian Like You (which was spoiled by an ad, of course) and Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth.

But judging by the self-indulgent feel of the band's fifth album, Taylor still has an unfulfilled urge to be just as brilliant as the unhinged Newcombe.

On the new album, tracks like Down Like Disco and first single, Smoke It, have hints of that big, grinning pop that helped them make a name for themselves on 2000's Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia.

But Odditorium... is different - and good on them for trying something new after more than 13 years as a band - because of long, sprawling, and hypnotic songs like Easy, Love Is the New Feel Awful and the warped 12-minute finale, A Loan Tonight.

Now, when the Dandys came to Auckland's Big Day Out in 2004 they made asses of themselves thanks to a shambolic, too-stoned-to-play set that was embarrassing.

And the word stoned springs to mind here. On first listen you fear the Dandys are just on a stoned amble.

Then comes that overwhelming feeling that this album is nothing but self indulgence.

But really, while this is less throwaway than their previous album, Welcome to the Monkey House, it's just a mix of stoned waffle and a few healthy puffs of stoner inspiration.

Label: Capitol