Album Review: Warpaint, Radiate Like This

Whether leading one another intuitively across the desert-rock soundscapes of their debut album The Fool, delivering a masterclass in harmonising on the self-titled follow-up, or challenging their audience with 2016’s eclectic Heads Up, Californian indie outfit Warpaint always take the listener on a compelling journey.

Their fourth album, Radiate Like This, was created in a very different manner to the previous three. Hunkering down in separate locations, the quartet worked in isolation, sharing demos and layering tracks. It’s an approach that takes trust, and it shows because, paradoxically, the record is perhaps their most cohesive work. Spontaneity is sacrificed, replaced by an intent that delivers an exquisite suite of dream-pop.

Stella Mozgawa chucks out powerhouse drum patterns – jazz swing on ‘Altar’, morse code bleats on ‘Melting’, slumberous beats on ‘Champion’ – that give the group a wondering base to expand upon. It’s all expertly realised, whether it’s the R&B-tinged ‘Proof’ and ‘Stevie’; the gothic ‘Hard To Tell You’ and ‘Like Sweetness’; or the jangle pop of ‘Trouble’ and ‘Melting’.

It’s a record that invites the listener to wander LA avenues down to the Pacific Ocean, soaked in summer and the uber-cool groove of Warpaint.

7/10