Warpaint

A feeling of unease animates the atmospheric rock music of Los Angeles quartet Warpaint, adding tension to otherwise dreamy slow-burns. The group formed in 2004, built around the foundation of Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, and Jenny Lee Lindberg. They developed their downtempo sound by playing venues in L.A. for several years, creating the songs that would make up their 2008 debut EP, Exquisite Corpse. A year later, they solidified their lineup with drummer Stella Mozgawa, and together they’d refine their ominous approach to indie rock on their 2010 full-length, The Fool, featuring highlights such as “Undertow” and “Bees.” The band incorporated more synthesizers and mechanical beats for 2014 follow-up Warpaint while retaining the feeling of incoming dread on songs such as “Love Is to Die.” Even as they exude romantic optimism on 2022’s Radiate Like This, that defining sense of something wicked lurking still comes through.