“It started with a riff that either sounded like Misfits or Danzig and then got slowed down,” explains Courtney Taylor-Taylor of THE DANDY WARHOLS about their new single “Danzig with Myself.” Textured like a well-worn pair of burlap jeans, the track is taken from their upcoming album ROCKMAKER which will be released via Sunset Blvd. Records on March 15, 2024. “Over time, it became the working title that was just too good to replace,” he laughs at the play on words.
Featuring the inimitable Frank Black who adds a heavy dose of Pixies’ fuzzed-out surf guitar, “Danzig with Myself” screeches like a Chevy Nova on a bender. Careening perilously, courtesy of Peter Holmström’s guitar, anchored with a steady and heavy rhythm section from Zia McCabe’s deep bass and Brent DeBoer’s intent rhythm, Taylor-Taylor’s vocals keep laser-focused on the road.
Following last fall’s revved-up and greased banger, “The Summer of Hate” which Q Magazine called “buzz-heavy, raw punk” and Post-Punk.com “a dark-rock manifesto, fueled by gritty guitars and fuzzed-out vocals with a supple, sexy rhythm,” the new single opens the gates for the release of their twelfth album ROCKMAKER. Always experimenting and pushing the boundaries of their own creativity (their previous album Tafelmuzik Means More When You’re Alone was a three-and-a-half-hour exploration of what The AU Report characterized as a “soundtrack that would typically score a mid-16th century banquet”), this album delves deeper into minor guitar chords that often characterize post-punk, deep metal, or even goth.
“Sometimes we have a very focused idea of what we want,” Taylor-Taylor says. “It’s generally what we want somebody else to make but since they never do, we have to. It has a very specific sound. There aren’t a lot of heavy guitar records currently coming out that we like, so that was the impetus for ROCKMAKER.”
Lending their hands to the production, celebrated British DJ and producer Keith Tenniswood (David Holmes, Primal Scream, Rotters Golf Club) of Two Lone Swordsmen mastered the record and acclaimed British producer Jagz Kooner (Massive Attack, Kasabian, Garbage) mixed it.
“Overall, ROCKMAKER is the manifestation of our desire to hear a record of heavy raw punk and metal guitar riffs, but it has its own alley,” he concludes.
The Dandy Warhols is Courtney Taylor-Taylor (vocals, guitar), Peter Holmström (guitar, keyboards), Zia McCabe (keyboard, bass, percussion), and Brent DeBoer (drums, backing vocals). ROCKMAKER will be released on March 15, 2024 via Sunset Blvd. Records.