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PO: Warpaint - Radiate Like This [5-6-22]


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Warpaint_RadiateLikeThisCover_final.jpg

 

Apparently the official store ships from UK. Sucks for US buyers like myself. Shipping is intense.

 

https://warpaint.tmstor.es/

-Pink Blossom LP

-Black LP

-Cassette

-CD

-Several bundles including a new shirt

 

Yellow LP

https://www.recordstore.co.uk/recordstore/recordstore/Radiate-Like-This-Limited-Edition-Translucent-Yellow-Vinyl-LP-Exclusive-Signed-Print/7B510000000

Edited by mcpherson123
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  • mcpherson123 changed the title to PO: Warpaint - Radiate Like This

  • mcpherson123 changed the title to PO: Warpaint - Radiate Like This [5-6-22]
1 hour ago, dreamover said:

Listed on Amazon for $28 so I'm sure it'll be available in US stores. Gonna hold off. 

 Yeah, that UK shipping price tag is really stunting my enthusiasm for blowing money on the pre-order. I'm considering getting the LP, CD, cassette and signed print just because I think it would be cool to have in every physical format available but again, that shipping.

 

In other news, I listened to "Champion" once and definitely enjoyed the melody and overall mood. The groove is ok. Not bad at any rate. The production (listening through car stereo from a downloaded  but "high quality" Spotify file) feels sort of stiff. I liked what I heard. Its definitely better than when "New Song" was the lead single for Heads Up. I was really scared the album was going to blow on the steam of that single. Turned out it was really good with some of the best tracks in their catalog.

 

My only real negative  critique of this new single is that it sounds a little rhythmically sterilized from the start through the middle but then finally starts to feel like its being organically played live for the instrumental outro. That ending really saved what was an otherwise very grid-alligned sounding production. But the melodies are good and I'm certain it will sound better and hopefully feel more natural through the home Hi-Fi speakers connected to my turntables.

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21 hours ago, sealed said:

Thanks for that. It looks like the official store now has a "Global" and "US" mode and the shipping for the US mode is much better but still is about $10. Better than $23 or so to ship the LP alone was before that change.

 

All the bundles have disappeared from the store however which sucks because with the better domestic shipping rate I would have jumped on the all format bundle with the signed print.

 

Oh well. At least I can get the music on three formats still. Will probably skip the cassette though. Or will I regret it if I do... ugh.

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  • 3 months later...

So this came out. Looks like only three of us were looking forward to it. I ended up cancelling my pre-order which still had not shipped as of the release date and I grabbed it from my guy's local record shop. Glad I went that way. The damn official band merch vendor was based in the UK and I would have been waiting my ass off for this thing while it was available right down the street.

 

So the verdict: I would say this album has their catalog's weakest opening and closing tracks. "Champion" is more enjoyable that "Send Nudes" but it does NOT hit like any other album's opener. Its also probably the second weakest track on it overall with the closer being the weakest. That's tough for me when I've loved every other album's bookend tracks which is a quality that really drives me to re-spin them.

 

"Hips" has to be the most satisfying expansion of their palette on this album. So many cool effects and performance styles. This is the type of track that invigorates a first listen to a new Warpaint album. Its so fucking cool. "Hard To Tell You" has instrument/vocal harmony sections that reference both "Mad World" by Tears For Fears and "Africa" by Toto. I'm not mad about it but it was slightly jarring at first. Song is good. "Stevie" has possibly the most beautiful bass/guitar chord progression harmonies of any Warpaint jam. Very uplifting and sweet sounding. Another awesome expansion of style with that interplay between guitar and bass. I really can't overstate the genius in that.

 

"Like Sweetness" is a nice jam but its one of several songs that I still don't completely remember how to recite in my head for the most part. I do recall it having a great melody. "Trouble" stood out right away with great melody and an uncharacteristic piano driven progression. I'm still having trouble (no pun intended) recalling anything significant about the rest of the tracks aside from "Send Nudes" and I'm not super fond of remembering that track. Its melodically nice but the titular lyrical theme is just so mundane it really shuts me down about it. I'm hoping more of the back half will grow on me.

 

I'm feeling generally positive about the album but it doesn't really have a track that can stand up "The Stall" or "Intro/Keep It Healthy" or "Warpaint" (the song from The Fool). Weird that they have a song named after the band itself. Its one of their top 5 best tracks though. One thing this album is missing for me is a lead vocal from Jenny. Its always good to hear her voice in front when they do that. Gonna keep listening of course. I am still enjoying getting familiar with it.

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Good review, which I mostly agree with. I like the album and have listened to it several times, but so far the individual songs and melodies haven't hooked me in the same way that much of their others do. Not that I dislike them, more that they just haven't grabbed my attention on their own. But it's a pretty solid, even listen throughout.

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On 5/10/2022 at 11:39 AM, Mars said:

Good review, which I mostly agree with. I like the album and have listened to it several times, but so far the individual songs and melodies haven't hooked me in the same way that much of their others do. Not that I dislike them, more that they just haven't grabbed my attention on their own. But it's a pretty solid, even listen throughout.

Thanks. After posting this I listened to the whole thing again and solidified some of those second half tracks in my memory. "Melting" and "Altar" are definitely two the the highlights of side B. I'll pretty much consider the former to be the acting finale of the album as I sort of pack "Send Nudes" into the category of "epilogue." Love the bass line on it but those lyrics are just too cheeky to stand up to the finales on the previous albums.  I'm not loving the main chorus lyrics from "Proof" because that's just a goofy ass adage to build song title and chorus out of but sonically the song is pretty good.

 

I really do wish that they had treated some of these songs in their current forms as demos and then instead go back and re-perform the whole tracks all together as a band in live takes for the final recordings, as I understand they built a lot of the songs in separate shifts without all being in the studio together at the same time, contributing their own parts after the bones of the songs were established. Many of these songs would feel much better if they felt like the band playing live like most of The Fool seems to be and a number of the best tracks on all the subsequent albums.

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I was hesitant on this album especially after the last album being pretty bland including the horrible "new song".  No idea why they ever decided to write that song as well as release it as a single. It just seemed like an amateur undeveloped idea with no checks and balances as a band for what is good.

 

The new album follows the same path with not many memorable moments at all and as said in the thread a joining of different ideas recorded  as individuals and slammed together to make a song. 

 

The first record and EP were fantastic. The st was good. Band has been on the decline since with this being their worst outing

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5 hours ago, youspinmeround said:

I was hesitant on this album especially after the last album being pretty bland including the horrible "new song".  No idea why they ever decided to write that song as well as release it as a single. It just seemed like an amateur undeveloped idea with no checks and balances as a band for what is good.

 

The new album follows the same path with not many memorable moments at all and as said in the thread a joining of different ideas recorded  as individuals and slammed together to make a song. 

 

The first record and EP were fantastic. The st was good. Band has been on the decline since with this being their worst outing

Completely 100% agree on "New Song." I wish it didn't exist. Disagree, however, regarding the quality of the middle two albums. I think collectively, those albums (minus "New Song" obviously) are astounding examples of the particular craft that Warpaint have been pursuing. The Fool falls apart a little for me on the back half with "Baby" and "Majesty" especially in contrast to the genius that is the first six songs on the album but those first six songs are unbelievable.

 

Warpaint (the self-titled album) is pretty much high quality start to finish. I can't complain about any track on there. Some of my favorite jams and just totally a consistent full listen.

 

Heads Up pretty much only has the one aforementioned blemish and the rest is pretty much gold to me. Feels like another home run like self-titled otherwise. At first, I thought "White Out" was a bit of a 90's pop song that felt a little off to me, like too nicely polished vocals but when I really listened in and heard the liveliness of the instrumental and the fact that the lead vocal is just straight up killer chops and beautifully melodic, I got over that gripe pretty quick. It turned out to be a real gem for me.

 

RLT is taking some getting used to. I really feel like "Hips" is the most forward sounding track and it makes me wish they'd gone more experimental for the rest of the jams. When I finished it the first time I felt surprisingly positive about it in whole but revisits have revealed some blemishes for me. I think it could end up being a favorite of mine if the trajectory of my experience finds it settling in as a grower but there are some obstacles. That whole weak opener and weak finale thing is making it pretty hard on me.

 

I've spent the least time with EC. The "Billie Holiday" song is mostly a stinker for me but I remember feeling fondness toward all the rest of it however less familiar I am with it as a whole. I should spin that soon.

 

I recommend you give the middle two another shot by maybe listening to them back to back and feel free to skip "New Song" when you do. It might end up being a revelation for you.

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sorry, but I fucking love NEW SONG. A Top 5 track for me for sure.. Addictive and ear wormy as hell.

 

been a fan since 2009 before The Fool dropped.

 

S/T is their weakest, Heads Up along with some of the singles/splits they did were a comeback, although the singles they released the last couple of years were hit and miss at best.

 

new album though is somehow consistently good, even as subdued and chilled as it comes across. Most of the tracks have a few moments to enjoy.

i threw up an early Vinyl-less review on my Youtube channel the other day. Of the handful of records that dropped last week, Radiate Like This is probably my favorite at this point.

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  • 1 year later...

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