Warpaint (Photo courtesy Beggars Group)

Last year, Warpaint released Heads Up, their third studio album, and the shoegazing quartet took their album on the road in a successful tour that hit 9:30 Club. This year, ladies from Los Angeles return to DC as the opening act for Depeche Mode at Capital One Arena (formerly Verizon Center) one week from today on Thursday, Sept. 7. If you’re going to see Depeche Mode, get there early to catch Warpaint!

Emily Kokal (vocals guitars), Theresa Wayman (vocals, guitars), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bassist), and Stella Mozgawa have released consistently sublime psychedelic tunes since their first EP — 2008’s Exquisite Corpse. Since then, they have gotten groovier and more relaxed in their songcraft, yielding great singles like “Shadows,” “Love Is to Die,” “Keep It Healthy,” “New Song,” and “White Out.”

Watch Warpaint perform “New Song” on Later… with Jools Holland on Oct. 25, 2016 via YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRU4gXdwhT4]

When I saw Warpaint last year, I was struck by their chemistry. In a Parklife DC review, I noted, “Emily takes lead vocals on the powerful ‘Love Is to Die,’ the breakout tune from Warpaint’s second self-titled album. Her lush, dreamy voice brings depth and dimension to songs that gently wash over the audience. ‘Love Is to Die’ is heartbreakingly breathtaking as a listen, and the band achieve a rare feat in bringing the audience inside the song in live performance. The four women take to their instruments as a unit, each synchronized on stage both melodically and physically, as they unpack the song.”

You really ought to catch Warpaint in performance if you’re going to Depeche Mode’s show. (Read our Parklife DC preview for Depeche Mode.) You’ll surely become admirers like us here at Parklife DC. Buy your tickets online.

Warpaint
Opening Depeche Mode
Capital One Arena
Thursday, Sept. 7
Doors @6:30pm
$39.50+++
All ages