Warpaint - 'The Fool' (Rough Trade)

As I gushed so admiringly over the West Coast lifestyle and recent musical uprising whilst discussing Best Coast, I shall try to suppress my frenzied desire to hop on a plane and head to the Californian beach whilst reviewing yet another offering from those fabled lands. Warpaint have been around, in altered forms, since around 2004 and an EP released last year ignited the blogosphere with ravings of the beautifully supernatural styling’s offered forth by the LA girl gang. Finally an album exists, titled ‘The Fool’, contradictorily named due to the audible proof here that Warpaint are far from fools and instead, have magnified, mellowed and matured.

Over half of the tracks spread out idly over five minutes yet this extensively straining sound is barely noticeable, such is the subdued ferocity that the album emits. The whole thing seeps by, filtered through layers and layers of archaic mysticism. Backing vocals embed themselves as an extra instrument, recalling choral command via spiritual rituals of old. The band drift between a Siouxsie-style gloom and a Sonic Youth growl with each passing refrain, two comparisons that still ring far from the peculiar display of euphonic whisperings on offer.

Each song title remains a short, sharp jab of similarity to the sound, in contrast to the winding, weaving, unwrapping five minute wanderings behind the name. ‘Shadows’ spins into life with the resonance of a warped record, crawling in the shade of a thick woodland cover beneath a starless eve. Opener ‘Warpaint’ strums a Joy Division throb with an unfathomably sultry vocal stride. ‘Undertow’ is a power play, with hints of seventies stoner rock and dashes of melodic indie pop combining to form an painstakingly sublime six minute ode to bitterness.

The record is as far removed from an upbeat West Coast summer record as possible, treading the line between winter and autumn, full of frosty detachment and chilly uncertainty. ‘The Fool’ is an album to curl up with in the witching hour, with a fire burning and something hallucinogenic in the air. Warpaint are four females who have pursued a sound that unites melancholy and magic, beautifully haunting and enchanting in equal measure. In doing so, they have devised one of the albums of 2010, taking some sound supposedly sensual and slicing out all of the romantic lust until you’re left with an animalistic iciness.

Words: Adam Parker

Warpaint Free MP3

Here we have 'Undertow,' the first single to be taken from Warpaint's hotly anticipated début 'The Fool' out via Rough Trade on 25th October. We here at Middle Boop are very excited about this release.

Undertow is mixed by mr Andrew Weatherall

Glasser - New Album Stream

With Glasser's stunning debut album 'Ring' out in just under a week, we have a preview stream for you to check out just how awesome Glasser (Cameron Merisow) is.

Rough Trade have already given it the 'album of the month' title and there will be two free shows in support of it.

Sunday October 10th - Rough Trade East
Monday October 11th - Eat Your Own Ears Presents : Glasser at the Macbeth

Pantha du Prince - Black Noise (Rough Trade)

It's amazing what someone truly talented in music can do with electronics. Germany's Pantha du Prince is one such talent and on his latest offering 'Black Noise', his first on Rough Trade, he spoils the listener with a series of different melodies, beats and textures that are entirely engrossing.

From the opening 'Lay In A Shimmer' it is clear that Pantha knows exactly the kind of sound he is aiming for, using chimes and trills to evoke in the mind of the listener the shimmer of the song title. 'Shimmer' is a vibrant and hypnotic opener and leads you to wonder why he decided to name his album 'Black Noise'.

The answer comes shortly after as you are led into a world of brooding beats and otherworldly synths. This music may have its origins in the same areas of electronic music as those played at nightclubs, but the only place you could ever imagine dancing to this is in some dimly lit alien disco in a far off universe; just one of the places your mind will wander to if you let it whilst listening to this album. This is an album rich in depth and is best only semi-concentrated on, allowing yourself to half get lost in the music and simultaneously letting your mind shift through various dimensions guided by the pulsating rhythms and claustrophobic scratching layers that accompany them.

The only true vocal on the album is provided by a guest appearance from Noah Lennox (better known as Animal Collective's Panda Bear) on 'Stick To My Side'. This does feel slightly out of place amidst an album that is otherwise entirely ambient, but nonetheless Pantha du Prince makes it work weaving his sparse electronica around Lennox's nasal voice.

Picking individual songs as highlights on this album is extremely difficult. The very best such as 'A Nomad's Retreat' and 'Satellite Snyper' (or practically any of them) do of course stand up on their own as single songs, but they truly flourish when listened to as part of the entire album. This is a piece of art that Pantha du Prince has created here and one that should be appreciated the way it has been presented; as one homogeneous piece.

The album clocks in at just over an hour, which is admittedly long, especially for an almost entirely ambient record. However, if you truly manage to lose yourself in this record as is intended you will have been transported far and wide and the time will seem to dissolve, and once you've reached the conclusion you'll be wondering where it all went.

By Rob Hakimian