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Odditorium or Warlords of Mars

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"Warlords of Mars" redirects here. For the book by Edgar Rice Burroughs, see The Warlord of Mars.
Untitled

Odditorium or Warlords of Mars is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Dandy Warhols. Recorded from April 2004 to January 2005 and released on September 13, 2005 by record label Capitol, the album features a return to the psychedelic, guitar-based sound of the group's earlier records, following their foray into synthpop with 2003's Welcome to the Monkey House.[2]

The album failed to match the success of its predecessors and received a mixed response from critics. Two singles were released from the album: "Smoke It" and "All the Money or the Simple Life Honey".

Background and production

The album's title references the novel The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs[3] as well as the band's Portland, Oregon pad The Odditorium, where the album was recorded from between April 2004 and January 2005. It was produced by Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Gregg Williams.

Release

The first single from the album, "Smoke It", was released on August 29, 2005. It peaked at No. 59 on the UK Singles Chart.[4] The Guardian praised the song, saying it "reeks of rock's decadent best".[5] The song was featured in "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang", an episode of Veronica Mars.[6]

Odditorium or Warlords of Mars was released on September 13, 2005. It peaked at No. 89 in the US Billboard chart[7]—their second highest charting album to date—and No. 67 in the UK,[8] staying in both charts for only one week.

The album's second and final single, "All the Money or the Simple Life Honey", was released on October 29.[9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic57/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Robert Christgau(1-star Honorable Mention)[12]
Drowned in Sound8/10[13]
The Guardian[14]
NME6/10[2]
Pitchfork1.2/10[15]
PopMatters5/10[16]
Qfavorable[17]
Rolling Stone[10]
Trouser Pressfavorable[18]

Critics were divided on their opinion of the album. The Guardian wrote, "The Dandy Warhols seem to knock out great music as easily as getting out of bed. Their fifth album further expands their palette of effortless cool", calling it "their best yet."[14] Drowned in Sound called it "an album full of creative magic and songwriting gems."[13] Trouser Press wrote: "Odditorium is the Dandys' magnum opus, a sprawling, rambling but somehow coherent result of the ambitions developed on previous albums".[18]

AllMusic, on the other hand, called it "half inspired, half-embarrassing and completely self-indulgent."[11] Pitchfork gave the album an exceptionally low 1.2/10 rating, writing "only the truly earless would mistake this assortment of bloated in-jokes and interminable, sub-song drones for some kind of masterpiece."[15] Alternative Press wrote, "Basically, Odditorium sounds like a giant "fuck you" to [their] record label."[19]

Frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor called the album "definitely the strongest we've ever made".[20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Courtney Taylor-Taylor, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Colder Than the Coldest Winter Was Cold" 1:02
2."Love Is the New Feel Awful" 9:36
3."Easy" 7:32
4."All the Money or the Simple Life Honey"Taylor-Taylor, Miles Zuniga4:29
5."The New Country"Taylor-Taylor, Peter Holmström2:10
6."Holding Me Up" 7:15
7."Did You Make a Song with Otis" 0:55
8."Everyone Is Totally Insane" 3:41
9."Smoke It"Taylor-Taylor, Zuniga4:06
10."Down Like Disco" 4:54
11."There Is Only This Time"Taylor-Taylor, Holmström4:40
12."A Loan Tonight"Taylor-Taylor, Holmström, Zia McCabe, Brent DeBoer11:49
Japan bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."11cc"Taylor-Taylor, Holmström8:16

Personnel

The Dandy Warhols
Additional personnel
  • Lockett Allbritton – vocals on "Did You Make a Song with Otis"
  • Achilleas Anastasopolis – trumpet
  • Eric Early – banjo
  • John Fell – additional vocals on "Did You Make a Song with Otis"
  • Sean Gothman – "number nine" on "Smoke It"
  • Travis Hendricks – trombone, additional vocals on "Did You Make a Song with Otis"
  • Herb Kirshrot – accordion
  • Bill Kurtis – narration on "Colder Than the Coldest Winter Was Cold"
  • Michele Loew – additional vocals on "Holding Me Up"
  • Caleb Spiegel – additional vocals on "Holding Me Up"
  • Gregg Williams – additional percussion, additional vocals on "Did You Make a Song with Otis"
  • Steven Birch – sleeve design, layout
  • Tchad Blake – mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Clark Stiles – editing, additional production
  • Gregg Williams – production, recording, editing
  • Scott Young – album front cover artwork

References

  1. ^ "Dandy Warhols Open the Odditorium". Spin. June 27, 2005. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Beaumont, Mark (September 19, 2005). "NME Album Reviews – The Dandy Warhols: Odditorium or Warlords of Mars". nme.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  3. ^ "MI.net: Dandy Warhols Interview". marsinvestigations.net. October 11, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "Smoke It". Chart Stats. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  5. ^ "Smoke It Review (Long) From The Guardian". Slabtown.net. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  6. ^ "The Music Of Veronica Mars: Episode 2-3: Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang". Mars Investigations: The (In)Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "The Dandy Warhols – Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  8. ^ "Dandy Warhols | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  9. ^ Gothman, Sean (October 28, 2005). "'Money' Single Available for UK Download". dandywarhols.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Odditorium or Warlords of Mars". Metacritic. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Odditorium or Warlords of Mars – The Dandy Warhols : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Dandy Warhols". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Adams, Sean (September 14, 2005). "The Dandy Warhols – Odditorium or Warlords of Mars". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (September 9, 2005). "CD: The Dandy Warhols, Odditorium or Warlords of Mars". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  15. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (September 15, 2005). "The Dandy Warhols: Odditorium or Warlords of Mars". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  16. ^ McAndrew, Maura (September 9, 2005). "The Dandy Warhols: Odditorium or Warlords of Mars". PopMatters. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  17. ^ "[Odditorium or Warlords of Mars review]". Q: 115. October 2005.
  18. ^ a b Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Dandy Warhols". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  19. ^ "[Odditorium or Warlords of Mars review]". Alternative Press: 218. November 2005.
  20. ^ Chan, Alvin (August 2008). "The Dandy Warhols". musicOMH. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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