Even a cursory search for Warpaint on the internet turns up some truly terrible descriptions of the LA-based girl group, including such categorisations as ‘wooze rock’, ‘experimental art rock’ and, worst of all, ‘magical psychedelia’. In truth to get a good idea of the band’s sound, all you have to do is look at their collaborators. The well-connected group (among their former members are the actress Shannyn Sossamon, sister of the band’s bassist, and Red Hot Chili Pepper Josh Klinghoffer), have supported The xx, and managed to rope in Siouxsie Sioux and Andrew Weatherall, amongst others, to handle the production work on their debut album, and comparisons to the previous work of each wouldn’t be completely unfair.
Although the name Warpaint may suggest some metal leanings, the sound the four-piece aim for is more British 80’s post-punk and new wave, albeit with a sunny, Californian sheen (Warpaint could perhaps instead be a reference to the band’s clearly well coordinated visual style). Which is where the comparisons to Siouxsie and the Banshees and New Order come in (Weatherall having famously produced the latter’s biggest hit). Second track Warpaint is not only a rare example of a band naming a song after themselves, but with its dark, swirling guitars and ethereal vocals, it could have very easily been recorded by Siouxsie in her commercial heyday, whereas Bees and lead single Undertow feature clear homages to the sound of New Order and their predecessor Joy Division in their use of melodic basslines and pleasantly jagged guitars.
After such a promising start, it’s a shame that discover that The Fool is an album that peaks early, in fact by track number four things are already noticeably on the decline (to be fair, considering the album’s third track is the gloriously breezy Undertow it would be near impossible for the band to carry on at that level of quality). The second half of the album consists almost entirely of subtle, near acoustic songs, which have the unfortunate habit of blending into one another. Although less techno-savvy than The xx, the two bands share a similar taste in dynamics, creating quiet music that seems to have been designed to be listened to late at night. The term ‘dinner party music’ does threaten to surface with these later tracks, but the band do still have a few tricks up their sleeves to avoid being dismissed as such – for example, most feature slightly atonal vocal harmonies giving providing the initially romantic songs a dark undercurrent (the title of the album’s closing track, Lissie’s Heart Murmur, may provide an idea of what to expect).
Pretty may be seen as a disparaging comment when it comes to rock albums, and a patronising one when discussing an all-female group, but it’s probably the most accurate description of Warpaint’s debut, being as it is for the most part, not at all original but well-crafted and intriguing.
