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  1. probably had about 5 full listen through, definitely a good choice for our 1st album review.
  2. The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House

    This was my selection, so naturally I enjoyed it. My favorite thing about the album is its overall feel and atmosphere...the vocals are often whispery and elusive even though it is first and foremost a rock album. That's what makes a song like We Used to Be Friends so catchy - the juxtaposition between the muttered verse and the falsetto, loud chorus.

    Specifically though, I like a lot of subtle things about the album. The pacing is top notch- this is why I'm not surprised that Andrew has been through 5 listens already. The way Welcome the Monkey House really just serves as an intro to WUTBF is really cool...I think that's a great opening track, but at the same time, I like that something precedes it. The little things like the spacey synthesizers going on in the background of Wonderful You and the understated string sound on Insincere keep you lost in the album.

    More noticeable, though, are the beats. Wonderful You, Scientist, and the crawling pace of You Come in Burned completely dictate the mood of the music. The way the guitar parts complement the rhythm section with a lot of tremolo-sounding moments is another thing that I love about Monkey House.

    Lyrically, the album reminds me of something I read about R.E.M. Michael Stipe often said that his vocals were merely another part of the music, and in many R.E.M. songs, the lyrics served little purpose. His voice was meant to be part of the rhythm. Apart from the album's high point (in my opinion), The Last High, I find this to be true. The lyrics aren't necessarily great, but you find yourself grooving to the singer's voice anyway. Even the epic closer You Come in Burned dabbles with meaningful lyrical content, but the atmosphere of the vocals still triumph any impact left by the words.

    Overall, I think Welcome to the Monkey House is a great "escapist" album. You can lose yourself entirely inside of The Dandy Warhols' monkey house and trip inside that world for a little while, surrounded by their soundtrack. With poppy and accessible moments, an unconventional interlude (Dandy Warhols Love Almost Everyone) and a clear sonic theme, this album is one I can constantly revisit.

  3. Last.fm shoutbox is also full of Veronica Mars posts. I would've had no idea what that was until I read Matt's post.

    Currently on my second listen today. I couldn't get "We Used To Be Friends" out of my head after the first listen. Nice to revisit the track after all these years. "Scientist" was a surprise, I knew the song from a TV show (Vero..no, Brainiac) but had no idea it was a Dandy Warhols track.
  4. Well, it would be nice to get some more reviews of this week's in before announcing next week's album from Bart. I hunted around the web and found a spot where his is streaming, because I couldn't find it on Spotify (perhaps you can in your country, I'm not sure).

    But anyway, since it supposedly won't be trouble for people to acquire it since they can listen to the stream I've found, I'll wait a few days to keep the Monkey House discussion going.
  5. I think announcing on Saturday/Sunday is fine. We'll all have access to the album within a day or two anyway unless you're ordering a physical copy and waiting for delivery.

    I'll post up my thoughts on the current album soon.
  6. I'll be reviewing this tomorrow night. Still got to listen to the rest of it.
  7. Originally posted by iTim:I think announcing on Saturday/Sunday is fine. We'll all have access to the album within a day or two anyway unless you're ordering a physical copy and waiting for delivery.

    I'll post up my thoughts on the current album soon.

    Good idea, Tim. No sense in announcing it early, there's no reason.

    Excited to see more reviews!
  8. Originally posted by EyesWithPrideB3:Well, it would be nice to get some more reviews of this week's in before announcing next week's album from Bart. I hunted around the web and found a spot where his is streaming, because I couldn't find it on Spotify (perhaps you can in your country, I'm not sure).

    But anyway, since it supposedly won't be trouble for people to acquire it since they can listen to the stream I've found, I'll wait a few days to keep the Monkey House discussion going.

    Yeah it's my bad man, I want to participate in this but I had a really really busy week. I'll definitely give this album a spin soon enough for the sake of hearing new music, and for this thread I'll be here to review the next album next week.
  9. The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House

    I was interested in this selection because I'd never given The Dandy Warhols any attention, although they perhaps deserved some given the two tracks I knew.

    The intro track does very little for me, I think we'd be better off hearing "We Used To Be Friends" from the outset. It's one of the tracks I already knew and it was great revisiting it after such a long time. Those hand claps and that falsetto are as addictive now as they were when I first heard it.

    The first half of the album is very lively but I think the pace throws you through the songs without giving you much chance to really appreciate some of them. "Scientist" is up with "We Used To Be Friends" in terms of catchiness. I really like the quirky sounds in "Plan A" but I do find it a little repetitive lyrically. A minute shorter or some lyrical variation and it might not drag on so much. "Wonderful You" has a really good groove and it is engaging whilst listening to it. But once I've finished the album, I find myself having retained nothing from that song.

    The second half of the album is perhaps the most enjoyable, despite containing the weakest track on the album in my opinion, "Insincere". From then on, there is very little for me to pick fault with. "The Last High" is one of the best tracks on the album and I love how the vibe that I get from that song is also evident in the following two tracks. "You Come In Burned" closes the album in almost seven and a half minutes, but I'm still yet to work out how it's that long because it really doesn't feel it.

    I certainly agree with Matt regarding the lyrics. Some are hard to decipher whilst others are very forgettable. But it's the vocal melody in some songs that grab your focus.

    On the whole, it's a very fun album. Some really memorable moments in there that encourage you to revisit some songs, if not the album further down the line. I do think that it could perhaps benefit from a slight reordering of the tracklist to just add a little more variation in pace. Would I buy it? It's been dispatched today (it would be rude not to for £2).

    Top three tracks:
    1. We Used To Be Friends
    2. The Last High
    3. I Am Sound

    Overall rating: 7 out of 10
  10. Listening to it for the second time. Should write something relevant soon

    By now, I can say the album is very catchy, and I'll be listening to it a lot.
  11. A short review as I'm not that great with them. Good choice of album.

    - - - - - - - -


    Previously, the only song I was familiar with from this album was 'We Used To Be Friends'.

    The Warhols are, from what I've read - a guitar-orientated band. This album ('Welcome To The Monkey House') seems to have its' strengths in synth-pop and electronica influences, mainly due to the prevalent role of Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran on synths and production. Everything from the keys and vocals to bass, drums and guitar is clear and well-mixed. Lots of cool little sounds you don't pick up on the first listen too.

    There seems to be a good focus here on harmonies and unusual vocal changes and styles.'Plan A' is a great example of those techniques - from a distant, almost spoken vocal to falsetto and then to a wide layering of vocals like a choir - and back again to the quiet vocals. As for the lyrics, they can as said be a little hard to understand but then that's what makes the album more intriguing; what you don't know and want to know.

    From my few listens to the album, 'You Come In Burned', 'Scientist' and 'Plan A' are my top three picks. 7 / 10.
  12. Listening to the 1:04 intro as I write this. Great beggining

    One question... are we limited to only English-spoken music for upcoming albums?