“This is not a record store,” quips Emily Kokal, surveying the crowd. As artists strive to shift copies, in-store album launch shows have become something of an obligation; a short showcase of new wares generally delivered in stripped-back arrangements. Nearly two decades into their career, Warpaint make it clear that they will be doing no such thing. This is an opportunity to really revel in one another’s company, to celebrate their latest release with low-pressure intimacy and warmth.
In a room of committed attendees, new cuts are welcomed greedily. They begin with origin song Stars and quickly move on to Champion, the lead single from Radiate Like This (the new album, released today). Cutting through their trademark moody grooves, it has a lovely upbeat glitter, an invitation to embrace your inner cheerleader. Melting is delivered beautifully a capella, small flickers of calypso snaking around the four-part harmony: “No more armour / no anxiety.” There are refreshingly few phones in the air, fans preferring to capture the moment in their loosening limbs.
The delight of a Warpaint live show is truly in the detail. All four members seem to untie complex knots from their instruments, working with the spellbinding agility of expert Rubik’s cubers. The rhythm duo of Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass) and Stella Mozgawa (drums) are particularly accomplished, providing the sturdy current beneath Kokal’s and Theresa Wayman’s more experimental vocal/guitar waves. Old favourite Love Is to Die still elicits the biggest cheer but Disco/Very is an aptly named closer, much more dynamic live than it is on record.
All good bands can learn to sound polished with time, but the communication in Warpaint feels more instinctual, a sisterly symbiosis that allows each member to shine without diminishing the lustre of the whole. It’s a difficult trick to get right, much less to perform it with this much calm and cool.