Warpaint’s third album, Heads Up, is aptly titled. An attention grabbing evolution of the band’s characteristic murky blend of interweaving guitar textures and languid vocals, which strips back some of their layers to produce a more focused sound, and even (god forbid) ventures at times into the realm of catchy.

From the throbbing drum beat opening of ‘Whiteout’, the feel is immediately punchier than the California girl-band’s past offerings. Without losing their ability to weave atmospheric tracks which lend themselves to melancholy 2am brooding, Warpaint sacrifice a little of their smokey opacity to allow their sound to breathe. An increased emphasis on beats serves as an effective balancer to their distinctive echoing vocals and moody guitars, and grounds the drifting melodies with a sense of purpose.

A strong underlying groove drives along numbers such as xx-ish ‘The Stall’ and ‘Above Control’ nicely, and the vaguely wafting gesture towards a hip-hop beat in ‘Dre’ produces an interesting track. ‘So Good’, propelled by shuffling drums and a double-time bass bop, could even be called foot-tappingly catchy – a novelty for Warpaint.  The shift into producing more instantly memorable fare is most joyfully achieved by ‘New Song,’ an indie-pop banger about fresh love with a radio-friendly hook which could reel plenty of new listeners.

Of course, in true Warpaint style, this is still an album which benefits from the perseverance of multiple listens – and feeling a touch of angst doesn’t hurt either. Some tracks lack development, such as ‘Don’t Wanna,’ and the closing number ‘Today Dear’ is an anticlimactic acoustic moan which feels particularly weak after the increased energy of what has come before. However, Heads Up is the four-piece’s most accessible offering to date, a welcome come-back which shows clear development, and the promise of more to come.