Whatever you do, don’t call Warpaint an “L.A. girl group.” Yes, they happen to be made up of four girls, and yes, they’re based in L.A., but while the phrase girl group conjures up images of pencil-skirted Zooey Deschanel look-alikes performing retro doo-wop harmonies in front of Jean-Luc Godard film stills, Warpaint strikes a very different chord. Their debut album, The Fool, which will be released on October 26, is an introspective blend of hushed vocals and psychedelic dream pop, all kept alive by rhythmic, pulsating drums, and is a far cry from anything being produced by the current crop of L.A. indie groups. For one, their aesthetic seems more aligned with Arthur Rothstein than Phil Spector, and their hypnotizing live shows fall somewhere between the Stone Roses and Nirvana unplugged. It’s no surprise, then, that The Fool has already received an abundance of positive reviews and is being billed as the most promising debut of the year.

The band, originally formed in 2004 by Oregon natives and childhood friendsEmily Kokal and Theresa Wayman, went  through several combinations, and produced one self-released EP, before settling on the current configuration. Drummer Stella Mozgawa, herself an L.A. transplant from Sydney who played in several bands before joining the group last year, doesn’t feel as though the current renaissance in the L.A. music scene played any part in molding their unique sound. “Almost every person asks if we’re part of the L.A. scene or L.A. aesthetic,” she explains. “I tend to think, No matter where you are, you can’t escape yourself.”

WATCH: "Undertow"