After the release of their self-titled album in 2014, the various members of Warpaint each delved into different projects, whether it was releasing solo albums or supporting other musicians. It's surprising, then, that an entirely new album, Heads Up, was recorded alongside these projects, as well as additional one-off singles.

The initial single from the album, "New Song," was arguably the band's most urgent and focused work to date, merging Jenny Lee Lindberg's unmistakable bass with washes of Lindsey Buckingham-esque guitar lines into something compulsively replayable. "New Song" is easily one of the best songs of 2016, and boded well for the rest of the album.

When the band visited The Current in September, Lindberg noted, "Each song is a surprise, and each song is different than the one that came before and the one that comes after … you never know what you're going to get."

Unfortunately, the rest of the record doesn't quite live up to these expectations, as nothing quite rises from the atmospheric murk the way "New Song" does. Mind you, Warpaint are always compelling; it's just that while "New Song" would seem to indicate a full-throated dance album, the rest of the record is more consistent with their oeuvre of meticulous sounds best suited for a rainy day.

Resources

Warpaint - official site