The Dandy Warhols – “The Summer Of Hate” [Video]

Musically, “The Summer of Hate” became our homage to the sounds of The Damned, The MC5, and probably a bit of the Stooges in there as well,” says Courtney Taylor-Taylor of THE DANDY WARHOLS. Talking about their propulsive and powerful new single “The Summer of Hate” whose A.I.-generated video was just released, he adds, “The record was the manifestation of our desire to hear a record of heavy raw punk and metal guitar riffs handled in a way that we felt was cooler than the standard knuckle draggin’ man-rock that still tends to dominate a lot of popular culture in America.”

Combining minor chords and styling them into a revved and greased banger, “The Summer of Hate” marks a swift left hook by a band whose ability to defy odds and switch gears has been a trademark of their indefinable alt-rock foundation. A psych-rock manifesto that incorporates gritty guitars and fuzzed-out vocals with a rhythm so supple and sexy that it belongs on constant rotation on a midnight dancefloor, it’s the perfect embodiment of what Rock And Folk called “the band we’ve all been waiting for.”

The neon-drenched video was completely created by A.I. “Apparently A.I. felt that what his track is about is a macabre alien hot cave dance party/’60s mini motorcycle rally, and it pretty much nailed it,” he laughs, pointing out the weird and wild imagery he and the video’s creator concocted. “A.I. is like a brilliant child, complete with ego and defense mechanisms. If you try to control it too much, it will rebel by doing some fucked up shit to your project.”

The band kicks off a run of West Coast and Southwest dates this October with The Black Angels (Queen Kwong opens about half the dates). Starting in Tempe, AZ’s The Marquee on Oct. 6, they will be hitting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Dallas and headlining the LEVITATION Festival in Austin with numerous other cities along the way.