Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
by The Dandy Warhols
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Aug 1, 2000
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. AllMusic
    80
    A bakers' dozen of their most focused and cohesive songs. Where their earlier albums were eclectic to the point of being scattershot, this release manages to limit the band's style-switching to dreamy, sweeping epics like "Godless" and "Nietzsche"; sussed, sleazy power pop like "Horse Pills" and "Cool Scene"; and country and gospel ventures like "Country Leaver" and "The Gospel."
  2. Alternative Press
    80
    A scattershot bagful of wild rides and demented ditties and an album of maniacal depth and vision. [#146, p.86]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Checkout.com
    60
    Being that the band's name is derivative, so are many of these Thirteen Tales they tell.
    All this publication's reviews
  5. HOB.com
    80
    One of the better albums released this year...
  6. Ink Blot Magazine
    80
    Akin to a perfectly plotted soundtrack to an unplanned psychedelic journey - multi-dimensional and anything you want it to be.
  7. L.A. Weekly
    80
    There isn't the slightest pause between any of the tracks on Thirteen Tales, just one big schmeer of good-rockin' vibes cresting and troughing for the length of this ode to, well, hipness.
  8. Mojo
    90
    A stoner's paradise from start to finish. Most pleasurable.
  9. MTV.com
    90
    A real piece of art, with an unmistakably original sound and incisive storytelling.
  10. Neumu.net
    60
    One-upping their previous masterwork, 1997's The Dandy Warhols Come Down, Thirteen Tales... will trip you out, especially when listened to on headphones in the post-midnight hours.
  11. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    After a while, the whirling atmospherics give way to the Dandys' dorkier tendencies: the jaunty chuggers, Taylor's dissolute mannerisms, the quirky little twists and tricks.
  12. Q Magazine
    80
    While their previous albums have always had great songs, with this latest set they've managed to place them in the right order, creating a truly impressive journey...
  13. Rolling Stone
    60
    Dandies can still harmonize you into a trance, but they've replaced the dreamy drone of 1997's . . . The Dandy Warhols Come Down with more diverse atmospherics.
  14. Select
    60
    Intermittently successful... [July 2000, p.107]
    All this publication's reviews
  15. Sonicnet
    80
    They may not always transcend their influences, but even when they don't, they make wallowing in them a helluva lot of fun.
  16. Spin
    80
    A rousing, enjoyable pastiche from start to finish, Thirteen Tales is an awful lot of fun...
  17. Spin Cycle
    60
    The band nearly succeeds in messing with your head. However, front man Courtney Taylor's hamming like Jagger on "Bohemian Like You" and the country schlock of "Country Leaver" are definite buzzkills.
  18. The A.V. Club
    80
    An 800-pound gorilla of winning, eclectic rock 'n' roll.... Thirteen Tales may be the most joyous, instantly likable rock record you'll hear this year.
  19. Wall of Sound
    92
    Without a doubt one of the best pop records of the year.

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Best Album of 2000
37
#37 Most Discussed Album of 2000
61
#61 Most Shared Album of 2000

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 26
  3. Negative: 3 out of 26
  1. VonSeux
    Dec 17, 2013
    9
    CLASSIC. Essential modern rock album. Very moody and excellent songs progression. Listen to it as a whole. From the start of Godless to theCLASSIC. Essential modern rock album. Very moody and excellent songs progression. Listen to it as a whole. From the start of Godless to the pop hit Bohemian Like you, Big Indian, Nietzsche, Get Off... a bunch of great songs and a great album.… Full Review »
  2. mwoesik7
    Jul 28, 2011
    9
    This is an absolute pearl. One of the few albums I always listen as one track. With 'Sleep' as my favorite. I haven't heard from them for aThis is an absolute pearl. One of the few albums I always listen as one track. With 'Sleep' as my favorite. I haven't heard from them for a while, but this album is always with me in my car!… Full Review »
  3. DanielW.
    May 17, 2008
    10
    Brilliant.
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