Wednesday 24 November 2010

Warpaint - Undertow


Originally from LA, this all-female band have been buzzing on the music radar as of late and I was curious to hear their music.  With a name like Warpaint, I was expecting something a bit more hard-edged but instead this track is suprisingly chilled out.

It's no coincidence that they've been touring with The XX - if you like one, you'll likely enjoy the other.  The guitar sounds are intriguing and the song has a sombre, relaxed feel.  Some may call it hypnotic and psychedelic, I would say it's verging on dull.  The verses and chorus blend together into one continuous texture and the song is lacking a real killer hook.  On the plus side, once the song builds to include the drums, the overall sonority is an interesting foil to the processed pop in the charts.  You can easily sit back and just let the music wash over you.  But at 5mins53, it feels a little too long and it's not something I'd choose to listen to repeatedly.  And the backing harmonies are out of tune in places...

Undertow is the iTunes single of the week, so with a free track this experimental band are certainly worth checking out.  Even from a quick listen, their album, The Fool, has other, better tracks with a much darker edge that are more worthy of your time.

2/5