The band weaves intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia and intimacy. The group has gone through many line-up changes, including actress Shannyn Sossamon and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.
In early 2009, their self-released debut EP "Exquisite Corpse" soared straight to #1 on legendary Los Angeles Amoeba Records’ local artists chart. By September 2009, Manimal Vinyl reissued it on CD and vinyl, complete with a new bonus track, ‘Krimson’. Mixed by John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), the EP successfully captures the band’s sonic textures and playful dynamism that they’re notorious for creating in a live setting. With a buzz already in the air, Warpaint is now beginning to stir the masses with praise in the US and abroad. Dazed and Confused calls "Exquisite Corpse" "a collection of magical psychedelia drifting over sublime moments of raw melody courtesy of the three free ethereal vocalists,” while The Independent adds, “They make a quite lovely sound with dreamy vocals, off-kilter hazy guitars.”
On October 25, 2010, the band released their debut album, The Fool. The album received a glowing review in the NME. Prior to the album's release, the band contributed a cover of the David Bowie song "Ashes to Ashes" to We Were So Turned On, a Bowie tribute album released in conjunction with War Child.
"Shadows", the first single from their debut album, was released as a digital download and 12" vinyl on January 10, 2011. A remix of the single, "Shadows (Neon Lights Remix)", proved popular; managing to be playlisted by BBC Radio 1 as part of the In New Music We Trust.
Warpaint toured the United States and Europe in the spring and summer of 2011 to promote the album. They played at various major festivals including Bonnaroo, Glastonbury Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Rock Werchter and Electric Picnic.
In 2011, the rerelease of Undertow charted in the UK at number 92 and also in Australia at number 75. On September 25, 2011 they played the prestigious Hollywood Bowl (as a support act).
As early as 2011, drummer Stella Mozgawa, in an interview with NME, expressed the band's intention to "experiment and write with one another" as the current line-up had never composed songs "from the ground up" together. Bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg further indicated that most of the newer songs were written by "just jam[ming] and free-flow[ing] onstage".
In February 2013, Guitarist Theresa Wayman confirmed to NME that the band intended to create a minimalist sound on Warpaint, revealing that the band developed songs at soundchecks, and experimented more with acoustic guitars and percussion instruments on the album. Lead vocalist Emily Kokal noted that R&B and rap music was an influence on Warpaint and stated that on the album there are "things that have drum machines and ambience, music that's more than standard rock." Kokal added that the album is largely keys-based, which contributed to the overall sound being "definitely different" from the band's previous album The Fool (2010).
Produced by Flood and mixed by Nigel Godrich, Warpaint is due to be released in Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Switzerland on January 17, 2014; January 20 in Denmark, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom; and January 21 in Spain and the United States on Rough Trade Records. A snippet of the album's lead single, "Love Is to Die", was featured in an advertisement for Calvin Klein on September 25, 2013 and later as part of a teaser for an upcoming documentary of the same name about the recording of Warpaint. The single was released on October 28 with the pre-ordered digital version of the album.
On November 20, Warpaint performed "Composure," from The Fool, as well as new songs "Love Is to Die" and "Keep It Healthy" on BBC 6 Music with Steve Lamacq in the United Kingdom. The next day, an article from the December 2013 issue of Dazed & Confused magazine appeared online, providing insight into the making of the new album, as well as the accompanying documentary, filmed by Jenny Lee Lindberg's husband and filmmaker, Chris Cunningham. Lindberg later confirmed in a November 24 interview on XFM that Cunningham's documentary would be made available shortly after the album's release.
www.warpaintwarpaint.com
Elephant
Warpaint Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To keep you far from where all dangers start
And atmosphere
Gets crazy life
Where every breath transpires
And to a star
Space of calm about you
They call me a thief
They call me a thief
Call me a thief
Call me a thief
Common thief
Common thief
Common thief
Call me
Call me
So I know
That you're not that you're not here
Sort of lost without you
I hope
That you burn all there is that
You want is inside you now
I'll break your heart
To keep you far from where
All dangers start
I'm on my way
I'm on my way down
I know
That you're not that you're not here
Sort of lost without you
I hope
That you find all there is that
You want is inside you now
I know that
You're not here
I wonder where you are
In the dark we are waiting for you
We are waiting for you
With your dying need for
Their attention hold on right now
We won't let you fall
We are waiting for you
With your dying need for
Their attention hold on right now
We won't let you fall
The lyrics to Warpaint's song "Elephants" are quite complex and open to interpretation, but they seem to reflect a sense of love and protective instinct for someone who is lost or in danger. The first verse talks about breaking someone's heart to keep them away from danger, and creating a space of calm around them. The use of "thief" in the chorus might suggest that the singer feels like they are stealing this person away from harm, or perhaps that they are stealing away their heart for their own protective reasons. The repeated refrain of "I know that you're not here" is haunting and implies distance, whether physical or emotional, between the two people in the song. The lines "in the dark we are waiting for you...we won't let you fall" add a sense of urgency and danger to the song, as if the singer is trying to save this person from something ominous or scary.
Overall, the song seems to be about someone keeping a loved one safe and protected, even if it means being apart from them or causing them pain. The lyrics could be interpreted in a variety of ways, but the sense of intensity and devotion is clear throughout.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll break your heart
I will hurt your feelings to keep you away from dangerous situations
To keep you far from where all dangers start
I don't want you to be anywhere close to situations that could put you in danger
And atmosphere gets crazy life
The environment we're in can be overwhelming and chaotic
Where every breath transpires
Every breath we take counts and has an impact
And to a star space of calm about you
I want to create a peaceful atmosphere around you in the midst of chaos
They call me a thief
People refer to me as a thief
Common thief
They call me a thief as if it's something ordinary
Call me
They keep calling me a thief
So I know that you're not that you're not here
I'm aware that you're not present
Sort of lost without you
I feel somewhat incomplete when you're not around
I hope that you burn all there is that you want is inside you now
I hope that you can find everything you need within yourself and become self-sufficient
I'm on my way down
I'm descending into a darker place
I know that you find all there is that you want is inside you now
I believe that you'll be able to find everything you need within yourself
I hope that you burn all there is that you want is inside you now
I hope that you'll tap into your inner strength and find what you're looking for
I know that you're not here
I'm aware that you're absent
I wonder where you are
I'm curious about your whereabouts
In the dark we are waiting for you
We're waiting for you in a difficult and uncertain situation
With your dying need for their attention
You crave their attention so much that it feels like you're dying without it
Hold on right now
Stay strong and don't give up
We won't let you fall
We'll support you and prevent you from falling apart
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EMILY CAMILLE KOKAL, JENNIFER LEE LINDBERG, SHANNON M. SOSSAMON, THERESA BECKER-WAYMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mariovasquez5228
i'll break your heart
to keep you far from where
all dangers start
and atmosphere
gets crazy light
where every breath just bites
into the soft
space of calm about you
they call me a thief
common thief
common
i know that you're not here
subtle's lost without you
i hope that you find all there is that you want
is inside you now
i'll break your heart
to keep you far from where
all danger starts
i'm on my way
i'm on my way down
i know that you're not here
i wonder where you are ! ?
in the lost
we are waiting for you
with your dying need for their attention
hold on tight now
we won't let you fall
@munwoman
I'll break your heart
To keep you far from where all dangers start
And atmosphere
Gets crazy life
Where every breath transpires
And to a star
Space of calm about you
They call me a thief
They call me a thief
Call me a thief
Call me a thief
Common thief
Common thief
Common thief
Call me
Call me
So I know
That you're not that you're not here
Sort of lost without you
I hope
That you burn all there is that
You want is inside you now
I'll break your heart
To keep you far from where
All dangers start
I'm on my way
I'm on my way down
I know
That you're not that you're not here
Sort of lost without you
I hope
That you find all there is that
You want is inside you now
I know that
You're not here
I wonder where you are
In the dark we are waiting for you
We are waiting for you
With your dying need for
Their attention hold on right now
We won't let you fall
We are waiting for you
With your dying need for
Their attention hold on right now
We won't let you fall
@briantruitt5218
Nearly 11 years later and this still sounds so fresh. I love Warpaint.
@jarelllevingston7882
12 years.
@DNBon.an808
I found them last year and my jaw dropped when i noticed the date; still the freshest shit
@jarelllevingston7882
@@DNBon.an808 Believe it or not, MTV used to play the Undertow video at like 2 in the morning, that’s how I discovered them. And then like a week later they became my first ever concert in 2010.
@shmay6148
Same here!! Eleven years!!
@itzep
I struggle to find bands in which I thoroughly enjoy every single song. They sparkle with talent and uniqueness ... it's unmatched.. they chanced my life at 15
@MrKurtisLloyd
The drummer is Josh Klinghoffer for those of you who are wondering. He's the current guitarist for RHCP. This album was also mixed, mastered, and produced by John Frusciante
@redechelon37
Whoa, awesome to know, thanks. Now that you mention it, it's pretty clear.
@programmedwrong3795
Kurt Boehmke I read that he only mixed it, and that Klinghoffer was the main producer/player of hard parts. Cause you can tell in the video that the guitarist isn't comfortable with the guitar parts yet. She's got noodle fingers going from chord to chord.
@Bruroto
John Frusciante brough me here