FOLIO
by Jack Diablo
Album Review: HEALTH – Get Color
Label: Lovepump United
Release Date: September 8, 2009
HEALTH is a band that has been on my radar for some time, but their newest release, Get Color, always seemed to take the back-burner to other albums. However, a week before it’s release date I saw the video for the single, ‘Die Slow,’ and I had to hear the rest.
A band that has already made significant waves touring with acts such as Of Montreal and Crystal Castles, Health makes noisy dance music that can be appreciated by both noise kids and indie dance hipsters alike. Somehow they are able to make noise that is outrageous without being offensive and combine it with beats that are danceable yet original. All of it, from the most consumable to the most obnoxious, is done with extreme intensity and an energy that penetrates the recording process. It’s safe to say that their live show is worth experiencing and seeing as how they will open for NIN on the upcoming tour, it will probably only get better
‘Die Slow’ is certainly the stand-out track in terms of commercial appeal and will no doubt be heard on many an underground dance floor in the near future. One track of note, ‘Death +’ does an amazing job of creating that eerily melodic, yet dystopian sound of bent circuity and machines with dying batteries, throwing in some white noise and matching it to a pulsing beat. Although it boasts the noisiest intro on the album, even ‘Severin’ has the potential to find favor among those who might not be so inclined to this brand of experimental music.
This album may be a little more synth-driven than some of their previous stuff, but it works and this group doesn’t seem to do anything without thinking it well through first. After only a few days of listening to it, Get Color looks as though it might have a place among my top ten albums of 2009.
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