Manimal Vinyl | Metaphorical in moniker, Warpaint wear a cleverly simple sound, masking a somber inflection in repetitive choruses and familiar folk melodies, luring the listener to reverb-heavy arpeggios draped overtop the dewy, luscious voices of Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman. It’s easy to get lost in the stereo world of Warpaint — perhaps equally alluring to label it more categorically: ambient, keyboard-driven folk rock? Post-punk shoegaze? Music and words form a texture of anarchic and sprawling ambrosial harmonies in a tribute to Billie Holiday on their track of the same name– where the immortal chorus of The Supremes’ “My Guy, My Girl” loses its confidence, not for want, to a more ambivalent, ambient sound.
“Billie” provides an almost sinister contrast to the perky fingerpicking of chorus-drenched “Elephants”, with its low-end, harbinger bass. Produced by Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante, Warpaint may seem like another face in the sprawling sea of folk bands, but the progressive sounds and willingness to add a bit of dissonance on an album like Exquisite Corpse puts them among the lead of the pack.
Words by Jeff Nau
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