KOKO, CAMDEN
18TH FEBRUARY 2014
Warpaint’s London gig at Koko Camden was a night rich in restless, dreamy indie. The show kicked off with support act All We Are, a Liverpudlian trio who in fact hail from Ireland, Brazil and Norway. The band confessed to the audience that Warpaint are one of their favourite bands, a fact that was obvious in their sound, which they describe as “the Beegees on diazepam”. Their whispery vocals and hazy melodies drew great response from the crowd, and saw the Liverpool-based band show big promise as an emerging Northern act.
Warpaint then took to the stage and embarked upon a show that beautifully showcased their latest offering, the lushly atmospheric ‘Warpaint’. The band delivered tracks in their trademark brand of dreamy art rock and maintained a consistent pace throughout their performance, occasionally slowing down to treat the crowd to old favourites like ‘Billie Holiday’, or speeding up the tempo a touch with newer songs such as ‘Keep it Healthy’. Warpaint make a particularly dreamy kind of music that’s not quite stoic or slow enough to merit sitting down, but also not upbeat enough for dancing, which makes for a seriously placid concert vibe.
Drummer Stella Mozgawa really shines on stage, showing a incredible accuracy and subtlety on the drums. Her drumming on the newer tracks can even sound almost electronic at times, highlighting the band’s departure from the submerged tone of previous album ‘The Fool’. Theresa Wayman and Emily Kokal sing psychedelically plaintive melodies with shoegaze-style guitar and keys, occasionally descending into more unstructured, jam-like performance. Kokal especially performs in an endearingly bashful manner, it is these sweet, off-key moments that make Warpaint who they are.
The band can also surprise you, occasionally rocking out in a crescendo of disquiet that sees bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg dancing around with her instrument and gets even this crowd’s heads bobbing. It is their mid-tempo offerings like fan favourite ‘Undertow’ however, that go down best with their fans tonight. Warpaint deliver a damn good show, leaving us with all the dreamy girl angst we could have asked for.
Photos by Richard Gray, www.rugfoot.net