Warpaint at the Roundhouse

Warpaint
Shock Machine
Roundhouse, 27 October 2016

I didn't realise it at the time but tonight's support act, Shock Machine, is one third of the recently disbanded and once hugely popular London band the Klaxons. Not that I ever listened or took much notice of the Klaxons while they were still around, so when James Righton of the band ran on stage making his big entrance after his new band had already started playing I just figured it was a newcomer acting the big rock star. Turns out not only is he already something of a rock star he's also married to none other than Keira Knightley.
My impression of him at the time though was that he looked rather ordinary to be the frontman, especially given their big psychedelic meets electro pop sound. They really reminded me of bands like MGMT and Empire Of The Sun, and even at times The Flaming Lips. The woman next to me said she thought they were pretentious but I rather enjoyed their anthemic, noisy pop tunes, plus they had a badass female drummer, which is never a bad thing.

I've been wanting to see Warpaint live for the longest time but had no idea what to expect. It seems appropriate that I'm seeing them for the first time at the Roundhouse, given that I've also seen Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and more recently, Lush, here. Warpaint has often been called "dreampop" and I can definitely hear shades of Lush in their sound, although of course they are much more L.A. than Miki Berenyi et al. 

When they arrive on stage they are all tinier than I imagined plus they all have that effortless cool that I dreamed of having when I was younger. They look like they just threw on their short loose dresses without even thinking (both Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman are wearing these) and still managed to come out looking like they are ready for the cover of a magazine. Bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, in particular, has just a loose sweatshirt and jeans on and messy blonde dark-roots hair but has the kind of beauty where this still looks incredible (on me I'd look like a total slob). 

Although, of course, it's easy for the beautiful to pull off this "I-don't-care-how-I-look" approach, I still admire it like crazy: I love that they aren't all dolled up. On top of this the stage is often so dark you can barely see their faces. It actually adds to the whole atmosphere of the show and makes the band seem more like equals. Their stage set up reflect this too: amid the plants covered with fairy lights, both drummer Stella Mozgawa and Jenny Lee are on risers at the back, while Emily and Theresa take their places at the front.

They start the show with an older song, Bees, a groovy drum heavy number that sees Theresa dancing around the front of the stage, before she eventually grabs her guitar and the song builds to a chorus of weird discordant dub-like guitar. Intro and Keep It Healthy, the opening tracks of the self-titled 2014 album follow, full of clever guitar flourishes and ethereal harmonies. It's all surprisingly hypnotic and grooving.

The bulk of the set is actually from their 2014 album, with the more electro Hi and Love Is To Die being particular highlights. I was really keen to hear some tracks from their new album Heads Up though, having been listening to it constantly all week, and although they played less than I'd have liked the new material fit in beautifully. One of the standouts for me though was a song that seems to have divided opinion among older fans because it's undeniably the poppiest thing they've ever done: New Song. With its disco-style beats and the catchy chorus ("you're a new song, baby, to me") I can also imagine someone like Kylie (in one of her cooler phases) having a hit with it but I absolutely love the track and tonight they play it like the anthem it will undoubtedly become. Damn the haters, their more dreamy songs are obviously great but they also do tribal beats and chants and now singalong pop great too.

A case is point is the final song of the main set Disco//Very, which sounds like warriors chanting on their way to battle, it's such an exhilarating, high energy and fun way to (almost) end the show. The crowd roars their appreciation and finally they return to play three more songs including my favourite from the new album, So Good, and ending with one of their earliest songs, Krimson, which turns into a long, up beat jam, with Lindberg and Mozgawa continually pumping up the rhythm, while Wayman and Kokal taking turns making their guitars sing, until eventually Kokal jumps up to the drum kit and begins thrashing away on the cymbal to a beautiful crescendo. 

Seeing (and hearing) Warpaint live is like diving into a gorgeous sea of sounds and noise and dreamy vocals. There wasn't anything I could put my finger on that made it all such a fantastic experience but it's definitely one I'd love to revisit again.