Warpaint: Exquisite Corpse

Whilst America have been enjoying Warpaint's music for quite some time now (allegedly even the late, great Heath Ledger was a fan), over here in the UK the reception has been...slow to say the least.

Just recently though, the band managed to sign a deal with the Rough Trade label, thus increasing public interest ten fold over here in Europe and branching their name out worldwide. As we enter the tail-end of 2009, the Los Angeles collective have managed to squeeze in a new label re-release of their début Exquisite Corpse EP and we here at S.G, being the vultures that we are, decided to pick at its bones and see why the underground Stateside indie-scene has been going crazy over such a new and emerging band.

It's immediately obvious to the trained ear as to why the group are getting so much attention and it begins within the crevices of their overall sound that start to explain the reasoning. Drips of Asobi Seksu, hints of Blonde Redhead and a distinct helping of the currently popular 'New York' sound are imprinted all over the CD. The confident female vocals echo a twisted Karen O and become the real crux of the record as it plays though its thirty minute duration. The vocals grate with an electronic warble at points too, sharpening the record's edges to a jaggedy, knife point.

Though the music reaches many heights over the course of the EP, they're even more serious on their ambient, tender side. Introductory highlight Stars burns slowly before allowing a tinny percussion to take over it's innocent glow. It's experimental but surprisingly immersive, tugging you timidly at the sleeve but demanding you stay within the strange, thumping warmth of the music and the hypnotic whispering of all three of the female vocalists. 

Elephant is a violent, catchy burst of malevolent bass lines and crashing guitars. Warbling, glitching vocals wail over the top as the music spirals out of control, making for an intense and brilliantly rewarding five-minute journey.

They've managed to somehow balance out-of-control indie-rock with mature, haunting tranquillity and though it shouldn't work, it does; really well in fact. There are certainly points with a little too much fat (Billie Holiday is great for the first listen but its near seven minute duration grows thin after just a few listens) and the blend of experimentalism and ghostly atmospherics may seem untidy and a bit of shock on the initial run through but it's eventual pay off outshines any fault with ease. A grower it most certainly is.

This isn't an EP to listen to on repeat and cherish for the next five years but instead, it's a display of a band's starting point in a career that could see them soar with just a little more time. They've blown apart an entire armies worth of other names who have all tried and inevitably failed at balancing such difficult music territories and there's still no sign of an actual full-length in sight.

If that doesn't spell Promising with a capital P to you then you're probably looking in the wrong dictionary.