After a six-year intermission, Warpaint are back, and they’re not sure how to feel about it.

At least for lead singer/bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, the prospect of jumping back into a life of touring is dually exciting and daunting, an exercise in merging their new life with the practices of an old one.  

It’s not so much nerve-wracking as it is overgrown, Lindberg explains, like exercising an unused muscle or hopping into the driver’s seat after riding passenger.

“I think awkward is a good word,” she laughed. “We’ve been living such interesting lives these past two years, and they’ve been very calm and still and the antithesis of this life… I still feel like I’m getting used to it. It kind of feels like when we first started - it’s been three years since we played a show. We’re just warming back into it.”

In classic Warpaint fashion, new album Radiate Like This defies genres. Synth-laden and dreamy, each of the tracks are threaded with killer basslines and breathy vocals, creating a work that is simultaneously groovy and uplifting while still holding onto darker hues of angst and longing.

Whether it’s the ‘Champion’ - described by Lindberg as “upbeat, dancey” - or the swirling minor harmonies of ‘Trouble,’ each song is heavily imbued with that Warpaint magic. 

“We just follow our instincts and intuition when playing with each other,” Lindberg explains. “But Emily and Teresa’s intention behind a lot of their lyrics is very much about a shedding of the old and embracing the new. It’s a lot more positive.”

They’re themes that are universal, yet still deeply personal. Post-Covid, few want to dwell excessively on the past few years. As Warpaint begin to define their post-sabbatical sound, they’re bringing those ideas to the fore. 

“A lot of it probably just comes with growing up and maturing,” says Lindberg. “And just having some space and time away from the road and the grind that we had for 11 years. This time gave everybody the opportunity to dive deeper into themselves and reevaluate what’s important, and what happiness and success mean to you. What your deeper purpose is, all of those kinds of things.

“Of course, it’s all up to interpretation. That’s something that’s consistent with our records - there’s ambiguity.”

It’s true - it’s easy to climb inside Radiate Like This. In ‘Melting,’ for example, the far-off quality of Emily Kokal’s voice, and stretches of stripped-back negative space, make room for the audience to project their own feelings onto the track - creating a song that feels like it was tailored to each individual listener. Or ‘Stevie,’ a ballad that pulls you into a simple, sweet love story. “You make me want to dance with you,” Kokal sings on the song, spelling out the most basic human want for connection.

“I can relate to maybe the most songs on this record than maybe any other record we’ve made,” says Lindberg. “Which is good! I understand the songs on our last records, and I love them, but not every song spoke to me on a personal level.”

Although Warpaint began working on it pre-lockdown, the album feels very suited to 2022 - a culmination of the band’s thought processes, recording styles and feelings over each step of the pandemic.

“It’s funny, we’ve been writing these songs for however long, but we didn’t finish everything until a couple months ago - it took us three years to make this record. Hearing the songs in their finished state, I haven’t lived with them for very long. So, they still feel very new and fresh to me.”

It’s an exciting time for the music world — people are dusting off their amps and stepping back onstage, ready to embrace live audiences with open arms. However, there’s an undercurrent of apprehension as bands make their way back, and they begin to realise just how long those two years were.

For Lindberg, more than anything, returning to performance has been a mental exercise. After two years of dormancy, even the most natural instincts can fade to whispers. 

“I’m nervous, to be honest,” she admits. “We played our first show last night and it was a little rusty. Because we were away for so long, and the pandemic was so isolating, it’s a little awkward and uncomfortable being onstage and having people watch you. It’s like ‘Oh, I’m not used to this! And I’m not sure I like it very much.’

“My style is always to just get into the music. I like to close my eyes, I like to dance and really feel what’s happening onstage - that’s the goal. But sometimes, you become so aware of what you’re actually doing, it takes you out of that headspace. It’s just a little more work to get to that place that I really enjoy. Which is being in the music and being up there with my girls, having that energy exchange with them and the audience.

It’s about letting go. And sometimes that’s hard to do when people are watching.”

Thankfully, a new feeling of hope is beginning to settle into the cracks left by the pandemic. 

“It’s amazing the waves that the music scene is surfing right now,” concludes Lindberg. “It’s really what we needed - positivity within each other and within ourselves.”
 
• Radiate Like This is out now through Virgin Records. Read our verdict here.

READ: Live report - Warpaint at the National Stadium, Dublin