The Southbank Centre Meltdown annual festival has returned, where a famous artist curates ten days of fantastic music. Last year, Grace Jones curated, performed, and invited acts, including Skunk Anansie, to perform. This year’s curator is Christine and the Queens, who will be giving live performances and invited artists, including art-rockers Warpaint who was supported by Amie Blu.
Before Warpaint arrived on stage, Amie Blu, as part of a five-piece ensemble, captivated the Royal Festival Hall with soothing and soulful songs about losing a friend to drugs, dealing with depression and ending bad relationships at the train station.
The 2010s saw Warpaint release three successful albums. The promised follow-up Radiate Like This was finally released last year. The first UK performance of songs from this LP took place at the Royal Festival Hall. Warpaint returned to their origins by opening with “Stars” from their Exquisite Corpse EP, released before their 2010 debut LP, The Fool. New song “Champion” from Radiate Like This followed. “Champion”, as with “Stars”, saw Warpaint rewarded by the crowd with mellow awe engagement.
Whilst bands often have requests for specific songs, an instrumental album opener is rarely so popular live. “Intro”, which begins Warpaint’s 2014 self-titled LP, engaged the Royal Festival Hall. The Warpaint sophomore song “Keep It Healthy” followed. The chilled crowd engagement intensified. “Disco//Very” and “Love Is to Die” were also subsequently performed by Warpaint. Then came the band’s only cover, “I’m So Tired” by Fugazi. The ability to adapt a piano-based two-minute song into sincere melancholy guitar magic amazed the audience.
At two-thirds into the set, the melancholic stoic elation changed and became more physical when the quartet played the up-tempo disco-leaning “New Song”. Not a single person sat back down.
Warpaint no longer live together and now write and compose in isolation. Their new sound leans slightly more into pop territory with happier subject matters. Nonetheless, Warpaint delivered a spirited performance of their songs when they were different people and continued to elate their audience in the same way they did with new material written from another vantage point.
Warpaint demonstrated that it is ok to move out of your adolescent cocoon provided what you move onto next brings out your sincere self.
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