This is indie / art rock group Warpaint’s fourth album, but their first since 2016. While the album was originally recorded in the studio. A delay to the release due to COVID allowed the band to continue working on the tracks in their individual homes. You can definitely tell that a significant amount of time and thought has gone into creating each track.
"Champion" is a ponderous but nicely melodic start, driven by the bass, there is a bit of a glow about the song. "Hips" brings up the tempo with a continued focus on the rhythm section, the vocal has a hypnotic quality that draws you into the track. "Hard to Tell You" is dreamy and floaty, a song that feels like it has a lot of space within it. Love song Stevie has a bit of an ‘80s vibe to it with an echoed vocal and a guitar sound that evokes something tropical.
"Like Sweetness" is slightly darker, but still retains the smooth flow of its predecessors and doesn’t feel out of place. "Trouble" offers a rich soundscape with strings and some light and dreamy vocal effects. "Proof" then changes the tempo with a rockier energy.
"Melting" is a perfect name for a song that does actually feel as if it is melting around you. The album closes with "Send Nudes" which has its own entire soundscape going on, all layers of interesting drums, guitars and synths.
This is a cohesive and well weaved album, listening to it is a bit like a hug. There is nothing aggressive, even in the songs with a slightly harder edge to them. Overall, it’s music to melt into and drift away on and it feels like it was made by a band who are contented and in a comfortable space with one another. The prefect album to spend some time escaping with.
Rating - 3/5
Comments