The Fool (Warpaint album)

Release

The Fool was released on October 25, 2010, in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. The album was previewed before its physical release through an exclusive stream on The Hype Machine on October 18. The album was promoted by two singles—"Undertow" and "Shadows"—released on September 21, 2010 and January 10, 2011, respectively. Both singles received moderate acclaim, though did not chart. In March 2011, "Undertow" and the Neon Lights remix of "Shadows", featured as the single's B-side, were featured on a playlist by BBC Radio 1 as part of the In New Music We Trust and "Undertow" was exclusively re-released in April 2011 as part of the international Record Store Day. On September 26, 2011, less than a year after its original release, a deluxe edition of The Fool was released, featuring two bonus tracks and a second disc with Exquisite Corpse.

In 2011, The Fool was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.

A previously unheard alternate version of The Fool mixed entirely by Andrew Weatherall – as opposed to just two songs mixed by Weatherall on the original album – along with a different tracklisting envisaged by Weatherall, was released on vinyl for Record Store Day on June 12, 2021. The Weatherall mix also included "Jubilee", a previously unreleased track that was recorded for and subsequently left off The Fool, with plans to release it as a stand-alone single in 2011 that ultimately also fell through.

Tour

Upon its release, Warpaint embarked on a tour of Europe to promote The Fool. The 21-date tour lasted from October 21 to November 15, 2010, and the band performed in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. Following the tour, the band also performed seven shows throughout the United States, beginning in St. Louis, Missouri on November 19 and concluding in Los Angeles, California on December 12. On January 31, 2011, the band began a third leg of the tour in Australia and New Zealand, lasting until February 12. On February 21, the band performed a one-off show with Twin Shadow at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London as part of the NME's award shows and in March and April, the band began another leg throughout the United States, beginning in San Francisco, California on March 16 and concluding in Indio, California on April 15. They also played at various major festivals including Bonnaroo, Glastonbury Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Rock Werchter and Electric Picnic in support of the album.

Composition

On The Fool, Warpaint tap into a "sultry" desert rock language,

Reception

Upon its release, The Fool received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 33 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". AllMusic's Heather Phares said that "The Fool has flashes of brilliance" and "darkly feminine songs with instinctive structures". Jason Heller of The A.V. Club noted the album "coasts instead on a humid, hazy, oozing pulse that's less ice age and more malarial swamp" and "with a torpid and feverish dreaminess". Writing for Consequence of Sound, Philip Cosores called it "a genre record for a genre that doesn't exist" and admired the album's production, stating "though the guitar leads sound unpolished, the vocals sound untrained, and the bass can overwhelm the songs, the lack of perfection makes more of a statement than all the auto-tune in the world." Andrzej Lukowski, in his review in Drowned in Sound, said "there is an incredible level of detail and accomplishment to The Fool" and Jenny Mulligan of Entertainment.ie described the "haunting atmosphere" of the album as "wholly intoxicating".

Filter reviewer Laura Jespersen described The Fool as "uncomplicated, psychedelic indie-girl rock with plenty of hazy guitar and a swooning, restrained sadness"; Hot Press also described it as "psych-rock". In The Guardian, Maddy Costa noted "it's the consistent sensuality of Warpaint's sound that makes them mesmerise." NMEs Laura Snapes wrote "the dark purple rumble and hypnotic coo of their vocals swim along, dragging the listener beneath its beguiling surface into a swathe of subtle time changes and guitar prone to sudden swan dives into heart-stabbing gold arcs from oil painting-thick landscapes." Pitchfork writer Ryan Dombal referred to The Fool as "a nine-song seance of an album that's as subtle as it is disquieting" in his review and Chris Martins of Spin summarized that "The Fool is built on Joy Division's post-punk low end, moody chords, droning vocals, and doomy lyrics, but it's more than a tribute."

Track listing

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from The Fools album notes.

Warpaint

• Emily Kokal – vocals (1–3, 6, 7, 9), backing vocals, guitar
• Jenny Lee Lindberg – bass, backing vocals
• Stella Mozgawa – drums, keyboards, guitar (1)
• Theresa Wayman – vocals (3–5, 8), backing vocals, guitar, keyboards (9), drums (1)

Technical personnel

• Tom Biller – production, recording, mixing (5)
• Sonny DiPerri – assistant engineer
• Sheldon Gomberg – mixing assistant (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
• Adam Samuels – mixing (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
• Nina Walsh – engineering
• Andrew Weatherall – mixing (3, 7)

Design personnel

• Mia Kirby – photography
• Takayuki Okada – photography
• Pierre Ziegler – artwork

Chart positions

Singles

Certifications

References

References

1. (August 18, 2010). "Warpaint to release 'The Fool' in October (updated) - latimes.com". [[Los Angeles Times]].
2. [[Q Magazine]], February 2011, pg. 138
3. (October 18, 2010). "Rough Trade Records - Hype Machine premieres Warpaint's debut album 'The Fool'". [[Rough Trade Records]].
4. (21 September 2010). "iTunes - Music - Undertow - Single by Warpaint". [[iTunes]].
5. Lauren Down. (November 12, 2010). "Warpaint Announce Second Single {{pipe}} The Line Of Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit.
6. (March 24, 2011). "Music Week - Yuck make BBC impact". [[Music Week]].
7. (April 12, 2011). "Pictures of Record Store Day - 50 essential releases - Photos - NME.COM". [[NME]].
8. Carrie Battan. (September 21, 2011). "Warpaint to Reissue Debut LP The Fool {{pipe}} News {{pipe}} Pitchfork". [[Pitchfork (website).
9. "Color".
10. Richards, Will. (April 8, 2021). "An Andrew Weatherall mix of Warpaint's debut album to be released on Record Store Day". NME.
11. (May 21, 2011). "Warpaint reveal new 'Jubilee Real' single at Great Escape festival". NME.
12. (October 26, 2010). "Warpaint Tour Dates 2010 Announced". gorockfest.com.
13. (November 24, 2010). "Warpaint Tour Dates 2011 Announced". gorockfest.com.
14. (November 22, 2010). "Warpaint, White Lies, Carl Barat for NME Award Shows 2011 {{pipe}} News {{pipe}} NME.COM". [[NME]].
15. Astin, Martin. "BBC - Music - Review of Warpaint - The Fool". [[BBC]].
16. "The Fool by Warpaint reviews". AnyDecentMusic?.
17. "Reviews for The Fool by Warpaint". [[CBS Interactive]].
18. Phares, Heather. "The Fool – Warpaint". [[Rovi Corporation]].
19. Heller, Jason. (October 26, 2010). "Warpaint: The Fool". [[The Onion]].
20. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic. (November 6, 2010). "Warpaint: The Fool". [[Financial Times]].
21. Costa, Maddy. (October 21, 2010). "Warpaint: The Fool – review". [[The Guardian]].
22. (December 2010). "Warpaint: The Fool". [[Mojo (magazine).
23. Snapes, Laura. (October 25, 2010). "Album Review: Warpaint – The Fool (Rough Trade)". [[IPC Media]].
24. Dombal, Ryan. (October 29, 2010). "Warpaint: The Fool". [[Pitchfork (website).
25. (December 2010). "Warpaint: The Fool". [[Q (magazine).
26. Dolan, Jon. (October 26, 2010). "The Fool".
27. Martins, Chris. (October 4, 2010). "Warpaint, 'The Fool' (Rough Trade)". [[Spin Media]].
28. Cosores, Philip. (October 15, 2010). "Album Review: Warpaint – The Fool". [[Consequence of Sound]].
29. Lukowski, Andrzej. (October 29, 2010). "Warpaint – The Fool / Releases". Silentway.
30. Mulligan, Jenny. (October 20, 2010). "Warpaint – The Fool. Review by Jenny Mulligan {{pipe}} Music, CD Reviews". [[Entertainment.ie]].
31. Jespersen, Laura. (November 17, 2010). "Reviews – Warpaint". FILTER Creative Group.
32. (12 January 2011). "Watch Warpaint's 'Live in NYC' session".
33. (2010). "The Fool". [[Rough Trade Records]].
34. "Discography Warpaint". Hung Medien.
35. "Top 10 Independent Artist Album, Week Ending 4 November 2010". [[GfK]].
36. "Warpaint {{pipe}} Artist". [[British Phonographic Industry]].
37. "2010-11-06 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". [[Official Charts Company]].
38. "2010-11-06 Top 40 Independent Albums Breakers Archive". [[Official Charts Company]].
39. "The Fool – Warpaint {{pipe}} Awards". [[Rovi Corporation]].
40. "Warpaint – Chart history". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
41. "2010-11-06 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". [[Official Charts Company]].
42. "2010-11-06 Top 40 Independent Singles Breakers Archive". [[Official Charts Company]].