Two girls in the front row have developed an intriguing way of dancing to Warpaint: they put their hands above their head, then make strange movements with them like an Egyptian sand dance. Eventually, the bizarre craze is even adopted by Warpaint’s singer-guitarist, Theresa Wayman, by which time the scene is like watching the Bangles’ Walk Like an Egyptian video, but with a sensual dub soundtrack.
Still, it’s an appropriate physical reaction to a band who make such thrillingly off-kilter music that dancing to it conventionally could put someone in traction. Although Warpaint are from sunny Los Angeles, they have a dark heart. With the formidable rhythm section of Stella Mozgawa’s drums and the Jah Wobblesque bass playing of Jenny Lee Lindberg , the new No Way Out finds an unlikely meeting point between Californian pop and the bleakly powerful post-punk dub of the Slits or PiL.
The 14-song set delves into their two albums, with a groove-laden Undertow and a gently intense Love Is to Die the highlights. They seem to find another gear in live performance, mainly because of the way the four grinning and occasionally leaping women spark off each other as they play, suggesting that anything could happen.
Here, surprises range from the playful Wayman’s unlikely declaration of love for Birmingham (“I’ve been walking by the canals. It’s beautiful!”) to material so “brand spanking new” that they expect to “fuck it up”. In fact, performed for only the second time, I’ll Start Believing is terrific. The song combines the sort of eerie cries last heard on Pixies’ Where Is My Mind? with haunting lyrics about an absent father and one of their most insistent hooks, suggesting that Warpaint haven’t even peaked.
• At Glasgow ABC, on 24 March. Box office: 0141-332 2232. Then touring.
