Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting meeting two great bands; one literally and the other figuratively. I went to see fellow Ghostly artists School of Seven Bells play at Slim’s here in San Francisco and their performance was incredible. But having seen them live before, I pretty much expected that. It was the opening act — Warpaint — that were the big surprise of the night.
Warpaint are a Los Angeles based “psychedelic” band and I’d have to say that description is apt. I spent most of the set mesmerized by them, sort of in a trance. This is one of those bands that I dream of producing a record for someday. Bassist Jenny Lindberg and her Rickenbacker carved out the low end as if from stone and the guitarists were all over it with the kind of stripped down, melodic style I’m a sucker for. I’m not easily moved by live rock music performances but this one had me running over to the merch booth to snag a CD before the set was even half way over. The hilight of the show was an ultra-somber yet perfectly timed rendition of their song “Billie Holiday” which left me in awe (and remionded me of another favorite from Grouper). As soon as I got home I popped the CD in, hoping it would live up to their live energy and was pleasantly surprised to hear that it did. It’s raw, unpolished, and at times sounds like a jam session accidentally caught on tape, and it’s beautiful. The only thing I’d change would be the drums on the album version of Billie holiday; they were absent from the live version and I think it was a little more focused without them.
I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I did, if you want to check Warpaint out they’re on tour and probably coming to your town soon.
[audio:billie_holiday.mp3] [audio:krimson.mp3] [audio:burgundy.mp3]
Aw cool, we played with Warpaint earlier this year and I’d have to agree with your sentiments. I love music that is raw and somehow creates a totally engulfing atmosphere around you. It was definitely my experience, I hope to catch them again this tour when they return to LA.
“It’s raw, unpolished, and at times sounds like a jam session accidentally caught on tape, and it’s beautiful.”
Yeah, I noticed John Frusciante of the Chili Peppers mixed the album. All of solo his stuff has that quality (highly recommended…sounds nothing like the Chili’s).
Also good to see Josh Klinghoffer Drumming on this album. He has done a lot of work with Frusciante as well. As a percussionist, I LOVE Frusciante’s restrained, raw compositions.
Beautiful tracks. Thanks for sharing!
The encore on Billy Holliday is intelligent and indeed trance-like. I can only imagine what it must have been like to experience them live… When the vocal is absent, it’s sort of a Mogwai-ish sound, or is it just me?
Great post. I just had a similar experience seeing them in Los Angeles on Monday. It got a little jammy at times, but their rhythm section was incredible and I couldn’t take my eyes off of the bass player. Looking forward to seeing them as much as possible when they come home.
I think I’m in love! As if my face wasn’t already melted, I find out that the Frusciante was involved 😀 My month has been made! Thanks for the post, Scott- and the Froosh info, Blake
Thanks for the great review and the opportunity to listen to Krimson – the EP won’t be released in Belgium before next week, so it’s great to be able to hear it already.
I read you enjoyed Billie Holiday more without drums. Well, in July they did an acoustic session for Dead Air Indie, without Josh, and we recorded it:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/mycpoy
It’s Stars and Billie Holiday, with a little reverb added.
Also, I’m running a fanpage on MySpace for Emily Kokal. I’m changing stuff at the moment, but if you care to become friends, there are a lot of bootlegs to be found in the blogs!
Thanks again,
***Laura
thanks for spreading the word. made my day
Anyone else recognize Shannon Sossamon, the quasi-famous actress?
The girl on the photo is not Shannyn, it’s her sister Jenny. Shannyn plays drums on three songs, she played with the band in 2007. The core of the band is Emily-Theresa-Jenny, they change drummers regularly. On tour they’re playing with M. Quinn (Corridor).
Good stuff. ‘Krimson’ reminds me of early Cure songs. Thank you for sharing.
I really enjoyed the Billie Holiday track; nice cool and chilled vibe. Something sexy about an all girl band that produces this kind of music.
Beautiful tracks! Thanks for sharing. I hope I can make it to either one of the many NYC shows or maybe Philly.
i saw them at the troubadour monday night and loved the show. i came home and downloaded billie holiday to fall asleep to that night. was so great live! also loved the phantogram who opened the night.
-JP
I’ve caught these gals about 4 times in Socal. I absolutely love their music. Leaves me in a trance as well.
nowhere to buy the EP in the US.. how stupid
correction: nowhere to buy the EP with krimson included on it
@Greg:
That’s because the EP will be released on OCTOBER 13 with Manimal Vinyl !!!
The EP without Krimson that you’re talking about was an earlier, independent release, which by now should be a collector’s item 😉
These girls should do a track with BoC
Warpaint sure is an awesome act! I really enjoyed the songs and they served as the best bait for me to want to hear and experience more of them. Are there any YouTube clips of them going around? Unfortunately the chances of ever seeing them live is pretty much nil for me, living in South Africa and all.
If you havent seen it already go check out Warpaint’s new video! http://blog.thehook.ca/2010/10/music-warpaint-release-new-video-undertow.html
Excellent post! I really like your writing style : D