To Live and Scathe in L.A.

HEALTH subvert expectations of DIY noise-rock aesthetics. The name
itself is anathema to most underground-music denizens with punk roots,
and its capital letters suggest a bureaucracy more than arty bohos
working in the fecund trenches of lightning-rod Los Angeles venue the
Smell.

Beyond HEALTH’s moniker, though, the use of ultrabright colors and
Arial and Helvetica fonts in their artwork and websites goes against
the tactics employed by most groups of their ilk. Add promo photos that
look like knock-off American Apparel ads, and you have a band that use
deceptive appearances and iconography to worm their way into the good
graces of folks who ordinarily might not give them a fair hearing.

All of this peripheral stuff would be irrelevant if HEALTH sounded
anemic. But the L.A. quartet—Benjamin Jared Miller (drums), Jake
Duzsik (vocals, guitar, Zoothorn), John Famiglietti (bass, Zoothorn,
percussion), Jupiter Keyes (guitar, percussion, Zoothorn,
synth)—blitz you with scathing shafts of oddly beautiful rock
brut. Their debut full-length, HEALTH (2007, recorded by
the band at the Smell), radiates a vital urban-tribal vibe—think
Animal Collective channeling Throbbing Gristle instead of the Beach
Boys—as feral screams alternate with mellow, dulcet crooning
incongruously reminiscent of the Zombies’ Colin Blunstone and My Bloody
Valentine’s Kevin Shields.

Of course, it’s daunting trying to create something new/innovative
at this advanced point in musical history, but according to
Famiglietti, it’s “one of the main goals of HEALTH. We stress about it
constantly. We dream of making a classic album.”

Early impressions of HEALTH’s new release, Get Color (released on Lovepump United, as is the debut and 2008’s remix record,
Disco), suggest that they may have done just that. On
HEALTH, noise took precedence over melody; on Get Color,
it is excellently balanced with alluring melodies. The foursome’s
songwriting prowess has improved, too, and the music is
fuller-sounding, thanks partially to engineer Manny Nieto (Breeders,
Mars Volta). Traces of sonic provocateurs like MBV, Liars, and Big
Black arise and disperse according to HEALTH’s peculiar modifications.
Putting pretty, delicate vocals amid abrasive noise squalls isn’t a new
approach, but HEALTH have found a way to artfully run this formula
through an especially thrilling cyclotron. Abrupt shifts in direction
and tempo keep you on tenterhooks, while the songs’ hooks come adorned
with bracingly caustic textures.

One suspects that noise equals catharsis for HEALTH, and Famiglietti
confirms this observation. “Abrasiveness, if used well and structured,
adds a sort of hyperawareness that makes you pay attention real
quick—like feedback or nails on a chalkboard. Your ears perk up.
It’s a special thing.”

As for HEALTH’s creative process, “It’s a lot of thinking and
talking. Songs are always written in a group. One member gets the ball
rolling with an idea, and the band piece-by-piece works through it
until it works. Songs are often written in words first, paragraphs with
arrows pointing to other paragraphs, as the song structure. It takes a
bit of time.” Unfortunately, HEALTH’s lyrics remain mostly
indecipherable, buried amid the distinctive tumult, but Famiglietti
says they concern “technology, sex, sad stuff.” He adds, “I think we’re
gonna print the lyrics to sort this out.”

Part of the uniqueness of HEALTH’s sound derives from their use of
the Zoothorn, a simple yet effective device that comes from taking an
effects pedal and replacing a guitar with a microphone that has an
on/off switch. Rather than coming off as a gimmick, though, the
Zoothorn lends HEALTH’s tracks a kind of fibrillating metallic veneer
that eludes most rock bands.

Another thing that’s eluded most rock bands are remix albums.
HEALTH’s Disco, while not wholly successful, probably won the
group many new fans who wouldn’t have otherwise known about them and
gave DJs some unusual weapons.

“We… think [remixes are] a part of being a modern band,”
Famiglietti notes. “If some shit pop band can get on my iTunes with a
great remix, I’m sure we could get on someone else’s… All the
remixers [Nosaj Thing, Crystal Castles, Curses!, and others] were
handpicked, people who we thought made great music and would do a good
job. We encouraged all the remixers to not respect the integrity of the
original at all in an effort to make remixes that were very different
and stood on their own so as not to detract from the originals at all.
It was definitely a confusion bomb to a lot of music people, but I
think it gained us new fans, [although] sometimes they come to the show
thinking it’s going to be a DJ set.”

Speaking of confused fans, Nine Inch Nails’ audiences had to deal
with HEALTH as surprise openers for Trent Reznor’s Lights in the Sky
Tour last year. What sort of objects and curses did the crowd hurl at
HEALTH?

“Bagels, middle fingers, and ‘Where’s Reznor?!'”

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