"I'm Bill Kurtis and you're listening to a piece of history." Yes, it's that Bill Kurtis -- the A&E American Justice guy -- introducing the latest Dandy Warhols disc in the rich tones he usually reserves for serial killers.

And yes, Odditorium or Warlords of Mars is a historic achievement -- if only because it's the weirdest and most psychedelically adventurous disc in the Portland popsters' catalogue.

The druggy Warhols have always laced their jangly melodic pop with trippy sonics, but on this hour-long outing they push it to the extreme. And try our patience in the process.

Tunes sprawl pointlessly to seven, nine or even 12 minutes, meandering along on lazy grooves, mutating into spacy soundscapes and evolving into entirely new songs before losing steam. Other numbers barely get started before they're cut off at the knees. Vocals are processed and buried in the mix. Hooks and choruses play hide-and-seek in the swirling clouds of reverb and echo.

Jagged guitar riffs and squirty synth blurts barge into the cuts willy-nilly. Basically, the whole affair sounds like it was written, recorded and mixed in one long, bong-fuelled jam. If you're willing to invest the time and energy, you'll find moments of endearing charm and even pop brilliance scattered amid all the noodling. But when it's all said and done, the undisciplined Odditorium falls victim to its own self-indulgence, coming off more like a curiousity than a coherent work of art.

History it may be. But the point of it all is a mystery even Kurtis couldn't unravel.

Track Listing:

Disc 1:
1. Colder Than The Coldest Winter Was Cold
2. Love Is The New Feel Awful
3. Easy
4. All The Money Or The Simple Life Honey
5. The New Country
6. Holding Me Up
7. Did You Make A Song With Otis
8. Everyone Is Totally Insane
9. Smoke It
10. Down Like Disco
11. There Is Only This Time
12. A Loan Tonight

Disc 2:
1. Get Off - Live from Spain 2004 (DVD)
2. Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth - Live from Spain 2004 (DVD)
3. Pete International Airport - Live from Spain 2004 (DVD)
4. Rave Up - Live from Spain 2004 (DVD)
5. Smoke It - previously unreleased video (DVD)
6. Plan A - previously unreleased video (DVD)
7. Scientist - previously unreleased video (DVD)