Exquisite Corpse

now released in the uk on rough trade. los angeles' mystical warpaint weave majestic, haiku-like guitars, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia / shoegaze, the haunting intimacy of folk, and rock's primal heaviness. expertly mixed by john frusciante, the album successfully captures the band's sonic textures and playful dynamism warpaint is notorious for creating live. the real show-stopper is 'billie holiday', where the band take the central lyrical hook from mary wells' motown hit 'my guy' and thread it through an arrangement that borrows its haunting qualities from such similarly arresting efforts as telepathe's 'can't stand it' and cat power's 'the greatest'.