http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/tcrmag/2014/01/2014-01-24d-tcrmag.mp3
The dance-y-est, dubby-est song on "Warpaint," the new album by the Los Angeles quartet of the same name, has an odd title: It’s the word, Disco, followed by two slashes, and then the word very — “Disco // very.” But that title is also a clue to the whole album, the whole band. Run the words together and it’s "Discovery." It’s not a very subtle clue, or deeply hidden one. Hey, if you’d spent the last four years evolving and discovering new levels of richness and confidence, you’d want others to discover it with you.
On Warpaint’s 2010 debut album, "The Fool," there was a certain rustic, even primitive quality to the music. Singer-guitarists Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman, bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg and drummer Stella Mozgawa shared a winning naiveté, sort of a post-post-post-punk hippie vibe. But what justified the considerable buzz it generated was a rich, art-conscious sophistication just under the surface. With this new, awaited followup album, the balance is flipped.
The album was co-produced with the band by English veteran Flood, whose extensive credits include Nine Inch Nails, PJ Harvey and U2. On such songs as “Love Is To Die,” he puts a robust pop quality fully up front, showcasing a strong hook and the new maturity of Kokal’s singing, capturing at once the edge of despair and the blossom of hope.
But the shambling side is strong, too, reflections of the music originating in collective sessions held in a domed house in Joshua Tree. You can feel it in the expansive sweep of “Go In.” (Of course, Flood was a key participant in another certain album tied to Joshua Tree.)