Los Angeles has churned out a handful of highly influential DIY bands over the course of the past couple of years: No Age, Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko, BARR, and Silver Daggers. Besides their punk-inspired, DIY aesthetic, something else all these bands share in common is that they got their start at LA's now-infamous The Smell. One band that stands out from The Smell pack is HEALTH. If they are not already, HEALTH is sure to become a household name by the end of 2009. They have toured with NIN (and are about to again on NIN's "final" tour), gained quite a bit of exposure opening for Crystal Castles last year, and are about to release a sophomore album that is quite a bit more accessible than their debut. What makes HEALTH stand out from their peers at The Smell is the fact that their recordings are far from lo-fi. You can hear the instrumentation, as it has not been soaked in reverb. Also, their songs are not particularly catchy and, as the new album demonstrates, often go above and beyond the 4-minute mark.
HEALTH's debut self-titled album had a few tracks that clocked in at under a minute and were droning noise soundscapes, as well as longer "proper" tracks that were often rather disjointed and involved a lot of stop-start time changes. All this makes the album difficult to follow for the more casual listener.
Get Color has vocals on nearly every song, which makes a big difference to those who don't quite "get" instrumental music, and slightly more coherent sound structures. Essentially, HEALTH tend to create what could be a computer-generated loop, but with live instrumentation (not unlike Animal Collective or, dare I say, Holy Fuck). However, unlike other analog electronica-type bands, HEALTH have more of an edge, a more intense live show, and are ultimately more interesting. Sure, they look like your average "hipsters" (clad in v-neck Ts and white-stringed American Apparel hoodies), electro madman Pictureplane is the opener for their upcoming tour, and they've been mentioned in
Vice, but HEALTH are more than just some disposable hipster sensation. For starters, the variance in rhythm is difficult to dance to. Songs often explode into heavy bursts of noise that may incite some pseudo-moshing. Other songs are subdued sound collages with barely audible, echoing vocals. My point is that HEALTH are too musically talented, experimental, and complex to simply be a hipster fad.
Hey, speaking of The Smell, No Age is releasing an EP this fall. It is quite a bit more subdued than their past efforts and, quite frankly, not that great. Not to suggest it is terrible, it is just somewhere in between, causing me to lack much of an opinion. Enjoy?
