Warpaint announce «ARTIFACT», a 16-track live collection

Warpaint will release «ARTIFACT», a 16-track collection of live performances, on 11 December 2026 through Rough Trade. «Billie Holiday» and «New Song» are already available.

Not one concert, but a changing portrait of a band

«ARTIFACT» deliberately resists the idea of capturing one perfect evening. Its sixteen recordings come from several cities and occasions between 2022 and 2024, including shows linked to «Radiate Like This» and anniversaries of «Exquisite Corpse» and the band’s formation. The result should be approached as an archive of interaction and development, not a complete recreation of a single concert.

Warpaint’s appeal has often depended on the way the members leave room for one another. A live album provides an opportunity to hear those decisions without the fixed frame of a studio mix. The first two previews make contrasting introductions: «Billie Holiday» was recorded in Phoenix in 2024, while «New Song» comes from Dallas. Both are available ahead of the 11 December Rough Trade release.

Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Jennylee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa have not documented a single night. The performances were recorded across multiple cities from 2022 to 2024, offering a portrait of the group’s shifting live chemistry rather than one uninterrupted concert.

How a song changes on stage

Warpaint’s catalogue is particularly suited to this kind of release because the instrumental parts often depend on subtle relationships: a bassline moves against a drum pattern, a guitar leaves room for a second voice, and an arrangement opens gradually instead of reaching immediately for a chorus. Recordings from different cities let those relationships be heard under changing circumstances. That makes «ARTIFACT» more than a collection of familiar songs in alternate versions. It documents how four musicians navigate a shared repertoire at different stages of their history, and why their live identity cannot be reduced to one definitive performance.

The recordings span celebrations of the «Exquisite Corpse» EP’s fifteenth anniversary and the band’s twentieth year. Older songs such as «Undertow» and «Love Is To Die» share space with later material, revealing how the catalogue has evolved in performance.

Listen and dates

«Billie Holiday» was recorded in Phoenix in 2024 and «New Song» in Dallas. Streaming, CD and vinyl editions are planned, including a record-shop exclusive. The project invites listeners to consider how a studio song changes when shaped by a live audience.

Official links: Escuchar «Billie Holiday» · Escuchar «New Song» · Reserva de «ARTIFACT».