Warpaint returns with a dreamily uplifting new single in the form of “Common Blue,” its mellow melody evoking the band’s talent for mollifying aural enchantment. It will also serve as one-half of the new 7″ the Los Angeles-born quartet will release on March 22nd through Rough Trade, including the yet unreleased track “Underneath,” to commemorate their 20th anniversary. The band also has plans for a U.S. headlining tour, which will coincide with their must-see appearance at Just Like Heaven in Pasadena this May.
On Valentine’s Day 2004, Theresa Wayman (vocals/guitar), Emily Kokal (vocals/guitar), and sisters Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass/vocals) and Shannyn Sossamon (drums) banded together in a studio located on Fairfax Boulevard to record the songs that would eventually comprise Warpaint’s debut EP Exquisite Corpse. In 2007, Sossamon parted ways with the band, and for two years, they maintained a rotating cast of drummers that ended with the enlistment of Stella Mozgawa. Their lineup secured Warpaint would go on to release four illustrious albums that materialized on the melodic fringes of dream pop and psych-rock.
Their devotion to meshing driving sonics and mercurial atmospherics appears as potent as ever on their newest offering, “Common Blue.” First conceived during a jam session between Wayman and Lindberg at the latter’s home in Echo Park, the track taps into the vitality afforded by the elusive but tantalizing promise of freedom. Mozgawa’s buoyant drums urge the soul upward as a gauzy layer of gleaming vocals and phosphorescent riffs flutter in their ascent.
“Maybe, baby, we only have one life to live / Maybe, baby, we can be a butterfly,” their words rise, burning with scintillating hope. “Isn’t it glorious / That maybe, baby, we can make the most of this?” Held aloft by its gently invigorating melody, “Common Blue” looks inward to find Warpaint affirming and rallying around a fearless pursuit of one’s dreams. The same energizing sentiment and force propelled them across twenty years and four albums.
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“Common Blue” is accompanied by a music video that captures the single’s revelatory relevance to the band’s retrospective attitudes to their two-decade milestone. Using footage recorded by Robin Laananen that was edited together by Chase Meier, the video is a montage of behind-the-scenes and live clips of Warpaint’s tours over the years. One that converges on and exposes the rousing energy the quartet generates with every performance and the absolute joy the four exude and elicit from fans.
On reuniting with Rough Trade the band said: “It feels like a perfect return to where it all began! With these new songs we tie a bow around this time in our lives, and all the experiences and songs we’ve shared over the years. It’s been an incredible journey and taken us all over the world sharing good times with beautiful people. Our hearts are full!”
Words: Steven Ward
“Common Blue” b/w “Underneath” is out on March 22nd via Rough Trade Records. See Warpaint at Just Like Heaven in Pasadena, CA on May 18th.
Visit Warpaint on their website, TikTok, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Warpaint tour
Monday, May 13 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Tuesday, May 14 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Wednesday, May 15 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
Friday, May 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
Saturday, May 18 – Pasadena, CA @ Just Like Heaven Fest
Sunday, May 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Tuesday, May 21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex – Grand
Wednesday, May 22 – Denver, CO @ Summit
Friday, May 24 – Dallas, TX @ Ferris Whelers Back
Saturday, May 25 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
Sunday, May 26 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
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