Warpaint shine in their debut UK show at CAMP Basement, London 26/08/2010

And yet outside CAMP Basement, hours before the doors open, a steady stream of soaking wet, doe-eyed teenagers have set up shop, braving rain and pollution. They look like minipops versions of Lear on the heath – wild, weather beaten and manic-eyed right up until the moment Warpaint appear and they get their sweeties.

Before this though, there is a neat set from support band Pull In Emergency, who do an admirable job of warming up the crowd via a fine blend of punchy indie rock with proper choruses. Sure it’s overly radio-friendly but the set is short and tight enough not to be boring and there’s a nice dynamic of the cute and bubbly lead singer/mean and moody guitarist – think Mick and Keith in the bodies of two gymslip mothers from a local comp. Single ‘55 Seconds’ is a piece of brilliant noise way beyond their years; surely good things will follow for them.

So to Warpaint, who headfuck the entire crowd by meandering up on stage way later than planned with almost zero sense of urgency. They temporarily lose bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg (sister of US actress Shannyn Sossamon and sharing of the same eyes, nose and mouth as her celebrity sibling) and there’s much goofing around and tuning-up before the foursome take the stage proper.

Their approach is laced with a polished anarchy: Warpaint are clearly four women with an extremely capable grasp on both vocal and instrument; they even swap drums and guitar to mix it all up. Their live sound showcases a music that mixes the funk of the Stone Roses rhythm section with a vocal traversing a place between the ghost-whisper of Slowdive and madrigal of Miranda Sex Garden. It’s intense, sexy and hypnotic.

For those who have heard and fallen in love with 2009’s Exquisite Corpse EP, this won’t be a surprise. What is a surprise, however, is the transformation of these songs (and assorted tracks from the upcoming The Fool, due out 26 October) into living, breathing entities. The seven minute jam of ‘Beetles’, with its lyric promising naked times ripping down the walls, grooves along with all four members of Warpaint completely aware as to where it’s heading. Every song concludes with the same intense orgasm – but gets there via a different serious of foreplay manoeuvres - while we gasp on, voyeurs all.

By the time they close with a beautifully raw version of ‘Billie Holiday’, a hazy tempo dragging it along, it’s clear to almost everyone in the grimy little room that something special has just taken place and we’ve been privileged enough to bear witness.