Warpaint is an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 2004. The band consists of Emily Kokal (vocals, guitar), Theresa Wayman (vocals, guitar), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass, vocals), and Stella Mozgawa (drums). According to Jenny Lindberg in a 2011 Guardian interview, the band originally went by the name World War 4 and changed their name to Warpaint only after writing their song “Warpaint” (which they had been playing for years but first appeared on their LP The Fool). “I’ve been asked a few times, ‘Oh, why did you name it “Warpaint”?’—as though we were naming the song after our band, when it’s actually the other way around.
The band began recording their debut EP, Exquisite Corpse, in December 2007, with producer Jacob Bercovici. The sessions took over two months and concluded with mixing and mastering by John Frusciante, who was also Kokal’s boyfriend at the time. Warpaint self-released the EP in 2008, which quickly moved to No. 1 on the Los Angeles Amoeba Records local artist chart. In 2009, Exquisite Corpse was rereleased worldwide to critical acclaim. The song “Elephants” featured in the 2011 independent horror film Siren, directed by Andrew Hull.
In October 2010, the band released their debut album, The Fool. The album received a glowing review from NME. Prior to the album’s release, the band contributed a cover of the David Bowie song “Ashes to Ashes” to a Bowie tribute album released in conjunction with War Child. “Shadows”, the first single from their album, was released in January 2011. A remix of the single, “Shadows (Neon Lights Remix)”, proved popular; managing to be playlisted by BBC Radio 1 as part of “In New Music We Trust”. In 2011, the rerelease of the track “Undertow” as a single charted in the UK at No. 92 and in Australia at No. 75.
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 in the U.K. 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 Lindberg’s husband, video artist Chris Cunningham (the subject of the song “CC”). Lindberg later confirmed in a November interview on XFM that Cunningham’s documentary would be made available shortly after the album’s release. A music video, composed of a two-song vignette from the second album—”Disco//very” and “Keep it Healthy”—was released in April 2014. Directed by Laban Pheidias, the video featured skateboarding from professional skateboarders Justin Eldridge, Kris Markovich and Patrick Melcher.
In August 2016, Warpaint released a single titled “New Song”, and announced the September release of its third studio album, Heads Up. From August until October 2017, they toured as special guest and opening act of Depeche Mode. Their four dates opening for Depeche Mode at the Hollywood Bowl marked the first time a band played four consecutive shows at the famed Los Angeles venue. In January 2022, Warpaint released the song “Champion”. It is the lead single from the band’s fourth studio album, Radiate Like This, which was released on May 2022 via Virgin Records.
