The Dandy Warhols release Rockmaker, their 12th studio album, on Friday, March 15 via Sunset Blvd. Records. As seen recently live at 9:30 Club, the quartet maintains their classic psych rock roots but dives into even a grittier edge that borders on post-punk and even goth.

Nalinee Darmrong photographed The Dandy Warhols during their most recent performance at 9:30 Club!

The following article is adapted from a press release. 

For Rockmaker, frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor found inspiration in The Damned, MC5, and The Stooges. “Sometimes we have a very focused idea of what we want,” Taylor-Taylor said. “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.”

The Dandy Warhols pulled out all the stops on this record and even called a few of their friends to contribute. Frank Black of Pixies added his trademark fuzzy surf guitar on new cheekily-named single “Danzig With Myself” (he also adds his guitar on a second song on the album “Love Thyself”). Also jumping into the fray are celebrated British DJ and producer Keith Tenniswood (David Holmes, Primal Scream, Rotters Golf Club) of Two Lone Swordsmen, who mastered the record, and acclaimed British producer Jagz Kooner (Massive Attack, Kasabian, Garbage and also worked on the new Andy Rourke-fronted Blitz Vega album we just announced), who mixed it.

The first single for this album “Summer Of Hate” was welcomed with open arms for its new direction and its AI-created weird and wonderful video. It also caused a minor stir, especially in the band’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, as it dealt with the sad deterioration of that city.

Watch the official music video for “The Summer of Hate” by The Dandy Warhols on YouTube:

At 9:30 Club on March 4, The Dandy Warhols made the live debut for two of Rockmaker’s songs — “I’d Like to Help You with Your Problem” and “Danzig with Myself.” They also performed “The Summer of Hate” in the middle of the show. They otherwise included a lot of crowd-pleasing favorites like “We Used to Be Friends” and “You Were the Last High” from Welcome to the Monkey House (2003).

Formed in Portland, The Dandy Warhols combined the best bits of shoegaze, alternative powerpop, and heavy rock with a wicked satirical pen — spawning alt-rock mainstays like “Bohemian Like You,” “Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth,” “Have a Kick Ass Summer (Me and My Friends),” and the synth-disco jam “We Used to Be Friends.”

The Dandy Warhols is Courtney Taylor-Taylor (vocals, guitar), Peter Holmström (guitar, keyboards), Zia McCabe (keyboard, bass, percussion), and Brent DeBoer (drums, backing vocals).

Here are some photos of The Dandy Warhols performing at 9:30 Club on March 4, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Nalinee Darmrong.