“It was really impressive watching Stella personalize her parts so quickly,” adds Emily. “She never got intimidated or overwhelmed, either. She was a champ, and like any great drummer, our backbone in every sense.”   No wonder why Warpaint now sounds like a well-oiled war machine, as illustrated by how far their older tracks have come. Take the song they named after the band, for instance. According to Theresa, it started with a drum machine, then passed through five different drummers as guitar parts switched to synths (and vice versa) and vocals were dialed up and down.

“We even played it with a full string ensemble once,” she adds. “Actually, that part’s not true, but it has gone through the wringer several times.”   “Shadows” is significant for another reason: it’s the first time someone (Theresa, in this case) came to the table with a fully-arranged composition, leaving Warpaint’s other members to color outside the lines with such experimental touches as upturned snare drums, floor-bound cymbals, and overdriven water bottles. “Baby” started out as a solo piece as well, but instead of fleshing Emily’s spare, subtle songwriting out with alien instruments, the quartet stuck to one lonesome guitar and vaporous vocals that skim your speakers like clouds on a clear day. 

“What’s been special about us from the beginning is the intuition between our members,” explains Jenny. “That, and our patience with one another, which offers us the opportunity to explore different ideas diplomatically and nurture everyone’s eclectic tastes.”   Every last detail makes perfect sense, too. Or as Emily puts it, “If we played on acoustic guitars with a pillow and a pair of drumsticks, you’d still notice how much is going on.”

The proof’s in the push-and-pull dynamics of every last note, starting with The Fool’s leadoff single, “Undertow.” A spine-scraping blend of subterranean bass lines, creeping chords, and melancholic melodies, it captures the very essence of what makes Warpaint’s music so damn special—the inescapable sense that you’re watching something very personal unfold. Something that’s almost too intimate.

And yet, The Fool is not about how Warpaint feels. It’s about how we all feel, the extremes that govern our everyday lives, and whether or not a twisted pop tune has the power to heal. As hippie-ish as that may sound, it makes perfect sense once you let the band’s slow-burning hooks and otherworldly harmonies sink in, from the synth-shocked power balladry of “Majesty” to the galloping grooves and patient, explosive denouement of “Set Your Arms Down.”  “While our lyrics are often part of a personal dialogue,” explains vocalist/guitarist Emily Kokal, “they address a collective ‘you’. I’ve always been attracted to music where the author and the audience feel unified; where a performance becomes a cathartic and rewarding experience for everyone.”    That’s funny—so have we.