Warpaint - Self Titled

By Patrick Campbell

Released January 27th, 2014 - Rough Trade / Rhythmethod

Nearly three years after releasing their debut album Warpaint have returned with a self-titled release, full of their melodic alternative music style. In this album, the four girls have taken more time to experiment, resulting in an album that is drum-heavy and utilises synthesizers, and electronic music far more than their last. In saying that however, the album stays within their niche brand of alternative rock that they have become known for.

Opening with an instrumental Intro, and Keep It Healthy, this new sound is instantly showcased. Guitar melodies push through slow, dark synth lines and loud, aggressive drums all whilst Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman's light and gripping vocals float over the top. It's a wall of sound, but a beautiful one, in the way that you can deconstruct each song with your ears, hearing each separate part within the song, and you can hear that they've put a lot into each song, but not too much. This wall develops through each one, including lead single Love Is To Die, until Teese, one of the first songs on the record where the bands vocals are fully showcased to their maximum potential. With a slow, minimalistic backing track, the listener has a chance to fully appreciate the girls' skill at harmonising and layering simple vocal tracks to create a complex sound. This is followed by my favourite track; Disco/Very, after a quiet countdown this song presents a driving drum beat and more vocal layering, building to a climatic point where all four women are chanting that they will "tear you in two". The dark lyrics are a theme throughout the album, the band showcases a strong and authoritative sound with these lyrics, similar to groups like Savages.

CC is another highlight of the album, driving to the end of the album with a dark, brooding bass line. The melodic guitar's repetitive melodies over the repetition of "Gimme more" keeps pushing the sound, creating a feeling of excitement for the listener as they draw near the end of the album. The end of the album comes in the form of Son, a slow, simplistic ballad which manages to clearly highlight all of the different elements that make the entire album so excitingly brilliant.

Warpaint have released an album which takes them to new and exciting territories of music. They've pushed their talents in an effort to make this album different. This album is definitely one that will be on repeat throughout summer whilst the band takes it on tour in Australia, and it definitely begs the question; when do we get the next one?

4/5