“New Song” by Warpaint

"New Song" was Warpaint's opening shot from Heads Up, their third studio album, issued on Rough Trade in 2016, and the title undersells the swerve. Instead of the moodier stuff that came before, the band heads for the dance floor with a bright, bouncing groove and a hook designed to lodge.

Warpaint wrote it and produced it with Jake Simon Bercovici, who mixed it alongside Shawn Everett. Critics noticed the change: NME heard the poppiest, catchiest thing the band had done, the Los Angeles Times called it a striking departure, and The Guardian filed it under disco. It became their first single to land on Billboard's Alternative and Adult Alternative charts, got the remix treatment from Soulwax and from Mike D of the Beastie Boys, and earned a spot on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.