Is it wrong or right to evolve?
The Warning take on the job of answering their own question with new approaches to their craft
As the final dissonant cymbal-choked note of The Warning’s new single “Automatic Sun” faded away, my wife turned to me from her YouTube window and said, “This is it. This is the one where they break out.” Unknowingly she was echoing many other fans and commenters who’ve heard the new material and have decided that the time has come for them to fill stadiums as headliners. A common refrain is “I’m glad I saw them on this tour because next time I won’t be able to get within a quarter mile of the stage …” The reality is, as Rick Beato pointed out a long time ago, that there is not that much space for big venue rock music in the industry right now; and most of that space is occupied by (for lack of a better term) legacy acts who have been on the scene for twenty to fifty years already. While it does my aged heart good to see Rob Halford totter out on stage with a cane to rip out Judas Priest hits that go back to when I was in high school, it is true that this means new hard rock acts don’t have much room to grow in.
On the other hand, I don’t believe for a moment that this troubles The Warning in the slightest. While they can do the stadium and do it well, as was evident in their opening stands for legacy acts like Guns ’N’ Roses and the Foo Fighters, I think they’re just as happy if not happier in intimate settings where they can communicate directly with their audience. Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part. But it’s clear The Warning will not be directly tailoring their creative process to go for mass appeal, because, despite being under record contract, they remain fiercely independent.
In the last chorus of the blistering “EVOLVE,” from their third album ERROR (2022), they change the lyric from “Pain is the price to survive, to evolve” — to “Pain is the price to survive: is it wrong or right, to evolve,” thereby posing an interesting question. Should they stick with an existing successful formula for creating new works or should they change, and if so is that a good idea? On one level, this is a trick question. The Warning have been constantly changing and evolving since they began their musical journey as preteens. If there’s a formula, it’s the oft-mentioned process wherein most of their songs begin with some rough ideas for music or lyrics banged out by drummer Paulina at the piano in the family home, and end with all three of the sisters collaborating to finish the song. It is a remarkably successful formula. But this is what they seem to have changed for their most recent release.
As recently as ERROR, it’s been important to the Villarreal sisters that the music and its performance is their work and their work alone. This is in stark contrast to your typical pop act, where the songs tend to be worked over by vast teams of writers, and the recording by vast teams of studio musicians, with the artist herself providing only a voice, and sometimes a bit of melody and lyrics. The Warning have categorically rejected this approach from the beginning and have persisted in doing it all themselves, as was emphasized by ERROR producer David Bendeth, recording engineer Rick Carson, and Lava Records A&R rep Devon O’Connor in the documentary MAYDAY In The Making. Their DIY approach has been pretty much absolute, until now.
During and around the time of the MAYDAY/ERROR tours (2022–2023), The Warning started collaborating with other artists on songwriting, for the first time. Arguably this was nucleated with their 2021 collaboration with Canadian R&B singer Alessia Cara on their reimagination of “Enter Sandman” for The Metallica Blacklist. While this was not a completely original creation, this wildly successful collaboration involving Cara and producer Matt Squire may have introduced them to ways of making compositional collaboration work. Over the last couple years, they’ve made trips to Nashville (to hang out with Lzzy Hale and other Halestorm members), and to LA, ostensibly for songwriting and collaboration. And from this they developed a whole 12-track album.
Their new album, Keep Me Fed, was released in full on June 28th, and each of the songs have songwriter credits in addition to Daniela, Paulina, and Alejandra. With a few minor exceptions this is the first time the sisters have released songs with co-writers, so this is a pretty major evolution for The Warning. Their collaborators include LA producer Anton Delost (also credited as producer for the album) and British producer/keyboardist Dan Lancaster (who is Muse’s touring keyboardist and this can’t be a coincidence), as well as Matt Squire who assisted with the production of “Enter Sandman” for the Metallica Blacklist. Other collaborators include Kat Leon and Nick Perez from Holy Wars (who opened some dates for The Warning on their US leg of the ERROR tour), Spanish YouTube star Shaun (“Shauntrack”) Lopez, hip-hop and pop songwriter Mike Elizondo, and the list goes on. It’s clear from interviews that for at least some of these songs they are using entirely new processes for writing: fast, on the road, unpolished, collaborative. Is it wrong or right? Well, if you ask my wife …
So their process is definitely evolving — what is different about the music? Well to start off, let me make one thing clear: this record is clearly and unmistakably The Warning. Dany’s vocals and leads, Pau’s drumming, Ale’s bass fills, and their vocal harmonies are all there and are distinctive. You’re not going to listen to this and wonder who it is. It’s absolutely Daniela, Paulina, and Alejandra. But, there are elements in the new songs that, to me, sound more like other artists than in their previous work. Which of course makes sense, with all the collaborators, and their experience with writing popular commercial hits. On the other hand, The Warning are putting their own stamp on things and stretching their boundaries — exploring the studio spaces (yes, there IS more cowbell), and reaching out into new areas with their technique.
The overall vibe of the album seems to contain a lot of distorted low end guitars laid over very crisply recorded and articulated drums. Best example of this is “Automatic Sun,” where Dany and Ale are down tuned a whole five notes to A (does anybody not in prog metal do that?!?!), requiring Dany to use a baritone Stratocaster to play it (we’ve been expecting something like this, ever since Dany fell in love with David Bendeth’s baritone Les Paul while they were recording ERROR: listen for it briefly on “Revenant”). And both Dany and Ale have turned up the gain and fuzz, resulting in some absolutely filthy tone; particularly from Ale, who seems to be harking back a bit to the delightfully harsh clang she was using live in the Queen of The Murder Scene days. But laid over Pau’s tremendously clear beat and fills, the whole combination is an almost entirely new tone. Another thing they’re doing a lot is dissonance and half-step bends in voice and guitars; which just amps up the tension and makes the resolution even more satisfying. And of course there are the riffs and hooks and second-verse changeups and prechoruses that remain their signature style. You can’t listen to almost any song off this record and NOT hum it to yourself as you go about your day, it’s just impossible to resist. To boot, their singing just seems to get better and better — layering and complex structure is everywhere on this record, leading me to wonder just how they’re going to do this live (early indications are they’re going to do it SPECTACULARLY). One new thing to notice is the guitar solo style — it’s pretty obvious SOMEBODY has been listening to A LOT of Rage Against The Machine and her initials are D.V.V. Very well suited to the overall vibe of the record, but definitely unexpected and eye-opening. And very, very cool.
So their music is definitely evolving — what is different about the lyrical content? Well to start off, let me make one thing clear… OK I said this already: this is unmistakably a The Warning album. Which means, of course, you: a) need to clear some space so you can headbang and b) you need to have tissues handy. While there isn’t an out-of-the-blue devastating vein-opening song like “Breathe” was on ERROR (wait … is there? *opens CD, sticks it in the drive* OK apparently not), the emotional content is there, as always. In addition to fun romps like “Que Más Quieres” and “More” there are the snarky diss tracks “Six Feet Deep” and “Burnout,” passionate anger in “Apologize,” “Satisfied,” and “Consume,” and thrilling defiance in “S!CK.” These are all thematic areas The Warning has worked in before; but still, they’re all bangers.
But there are some themes on this record that are new. “More” and “Automatic Sun” address longing and desire with an earthy sensuality that would not have been imaginable for this band a few short years ago. The eerie “Escapism” is as dark and as haunting as anything they’ve ever done but just sounds incredibly fresh. “Sharks” and in particular the heartbreaking “Hell You Call A Dream” talk about the sometimes-terrifying cost of fame and the exhausting labor of being on the road. This is particularly poignant for people who have been fans of the band for a long time, as they are well aware what the sisters have missed growing up the way they have, dedicated to the proposition that they will be rock stars. Go watch The Warning’s short documentary celebrating their 10th anniversary as a band and just try not to choke up when Dany answers “… the price?”
And not to read too much into the symbolism here, but it’s fair to point out that at the high point of “Hell You Call A Dream,” a song in which Dany questions whether the success has been worth the cost, she hits the highest note she has ever hit in a song to date. Whew. High pollen count, huh? Go ahead, blow your nose. I’ll wait.
The Warning are now in the midst of a very busy cycle of promoting the new album and their upcoming tours, after finishing sold-out tours of Europe and Japan, where they appeared with superstars Band-Maid and collaborated on a new single. And they appeared on the late-night Jimmy Kimmel show, and returned to the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood to play a private album release party. One thing that is noticeable about the new interviews is that in addition to their customary candor and humility they seem to have developed more confidence and comfort, and at times seem to be actually having fun doing these required chores (I don’t know, maybe it beats autographing stacks of albums …)
So, to wrap this up because I have yammered on too long here: Is it wrong or right, to evolve? I’ll go back to my original thesis — it doesn’t matter. The Warning are evolving, and you’re either along for the ride, or you’re not. I bet you are. I know I am. See you at the club. Or the stadium. Don’t bother to wear socks, Dany, Pau and Ale will knock them off for you anyway.
