With haunting melodies and hypnotic guitar riffs the women of Warpaint bring a sexy spookiness to their particular brand of art rock. Three members of the foursome sing and the layering of their occasionally screechy voices evokes the Sirens, though not all of the tracks on their first full–length effort could lead sailors astray. While each track of their debut EP Exquisite Corpses was tinged with a crazy–cool genius, The Fool is sprinkled with fillers like “Warpaint” and “Majesty,” which contribute little more than long, monotonous instrumentals and tired lyrics.
Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman tag–team the lead vocals, often providing some necessary variety to the album’s consistent sound. They sometimes let their careful harmonies fall apart, creating a surprisingly satisfying sense of unease. Unfortunately, their lyrics have much less of an impact; many of the songs seem to be composed of strings of vague phrases resembling amateur poetry, such as the cliché progression in “Set Your Arms Down:” “We walk through fire/My love is your flashlight.”
Nonetheless, the ladies succeed when they experiment with new sounds. “Undertow” adds a bit of lightness to the album’s gloomy tone with a beachy beat and breathy vocals. An acoustic guitar forms the backbones of “Shadows” and “Baby,” complementing the strange lullaby quality in each. “Composure” starts with methodic chanting, then transitions sharply into singing reminiscent of the band’s earlier work, and the two styles converge smoothly at the end.
With just one full album and one EP, Warpaint is rather new to the business, but they have already fallen into a steady sound, which is more repetitive than distinct on The Fool.
Warpaint, The Fool
Sounds Like: A mellow devil’s gospel music 99–Cent Download: “Undertow” Good For: When you’re in search of an all–girl band sans glitter 3/5 Stars
