After a year of steady build-up, bold reinvention, and dancefloor resurrection, WARFIELD – the darkwave/deathrock project helmed by She Wants Revenge lyricist and frontman Justin Warfield – arrives at a pivotal moment. Today marks the release of Deathrock Devotionals Vol. II (out via Black Heathers/Cleopatra Records), the latest installment in Justin’s ongoing love letter to the early Los Angeles deathrock and post-punk scenes that shaped him. Just two weeks later, on November 28, the saga culminates with the release of the full-length album Deathrock Devotionals – an all-encompassing statement piece that merges narrative depth, goth energy, and propulsive hooks into one darkly luminous body of work.
“Like its predecessor, Vol. II is a continuation, and remembrance of, the early years of goth and deathrock in Los Angeles,” Justin explains. “I’m taking inspiration from 45 Grave, Super Heroines, Rozz Williams, Patrick Mata – all those people who pioneered this thing that not only lives on, but is thriving so many years later it. I’m just continuing that spirit and making something new, fun, full of energy, and from my point of view.” He continues, “In many ways this project, this band, and this record specifically is really the child of a time in the early ’80s in LA when there was a confluence of art-rock punks, East LA punks, Queer culture, late-night diners and after hours, basement shows, dueling live music venues in Chinatown as the epicenter of the scene, and suburban backyard parties. When Hollywood was dangerous and full of possibility, and before the jocks and bros crashed the punk party.”
Earlier singles from the Deathrock Devotionals era – including “All The Fun (Kiss Kiss Kiss),” “Jet Plane,” “Fades,” and the standalone seasonal anthem “Black Halloween” – have offered glimpses into WARFIELD’s soundworld: vibrant, cinematic, and rooted in storytelling. From frenetic hooks to throbbing basslines and haunting synths, the project captures both the pulse of LA’s underground and the sense of impermanence that lingers in its shadow.
WARFIELD collaborator Thomas Froggatt helped shape the project’s core sound, co-writing and playing bass on the album, helping shape the rhythm-driven dynamism that underpins tracks like “Fades.” “Sometimes it’s the little things that come from out of the ether that give you a spark,” Justin says. “You catch something unexpected – a sound, a texture – and suddenly everything clicks.”
For Justin Warfield, WARFIELD marks his first proper solo project since co-founding She Wants Revenge in 2004 – “the only recording and touring project I’ve helmed outside of SWR,” he says. While She Wants Revenge continues to perform live and record, WARFIELD allows him to stretch out and fully lean into the creative and aesthetic instincts that have always pulsed just beneath the surface: cinematic melancholy, playful macabre, and rhythmic intensity.
“I feel like as a man who’s growing older, I’m grappling with time, regret, mortality, fear, anxiety, and all of these very relatable problems or feelings,” Justin reflects. “But also, there’s a punk spirit that feels very full of hope, of piss and vinegar, and of a sort of hysterical fun. Dancing at the end of the world, if you will.”
Following its Los Angeles live debut earlier this year, WARFIELD will bring Deathrock Devotionals to stages across North America in the coming months, with more details to follow soon.
“Every song in this project has been a way of honoring where I come from – not just musically, but emotionally,” he adds. “It’s about the moments that fade, the things that stay, and the way music helps us haunt the places we love.”
Deathrock Devotionals Vol. II is available now on Black Heathers/Cleopatra Records, with the full-length album Deathrock Devotionals to follow on November 28.
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