HEALTH :: Disco2

HEALTH - USA Boys

Californian noise-rock act HEALTH are known for their experimental take on the electronic genre. Yet Disco2, a remix album of 2009 release Get Color, the music is far more refined and almost given a new element. The original workings of many of the band’s songs are more edgy and move from one thing to another very quickly. The group have proven in the past that they are willing to go out on a limb and produce tracks that lack any real formula, often employing minimalistic lyrical content and juxtaposing sounds that somehow manage to work well together. With Disco2, it appears that each individual remix has allowed the best elements of HEALTH’s music to come to the fore and create a collection of tracks that stand up in their own right.

The one noticeable theme evident in this collection of songs is the down-tempo nature of many of the tracks, in comparison to the more intense original versions provided on Get Color. Each remix seems to flow effortlessly and it is evident that each reworking has been considered with the aim of stripping back the HEALTH sound and showing it in a different light. UK act Crystal Castles, who have previously reworked Crimewave on the band’s last remix album, return to provide a new take on Eat Flesh. Unlike Crimewave, it is hard to find any sounds reminiscent of the Crystal Castles sound on this track, other than perhaps the droning, high-pitched vocal that remains constant throughout the song. This remix leaves in-tact the raw elements of HEALTH’s percussive backdrop, and is one of the only tracks on Disco2 to do so.

Other highlights on the album include Cfcf’s remix of Before Tigers, which implements electronic beats to slowly build the song along with a lounge-like glitch effect that carries the track gently along. The Small Black reworking of Severin is another song that manages to make the most of lead singer Jacob Duzsik’s subtle and encapsulating vocal, and implements many of the same aspects that feature on the most part of Disco2. Pictureplane’s remix of Die Slow would be a favourite for many indie DJ’s around Australia if they were aware of it, displaying the simple electro beat that many acts have recently produced, yet uses a symphonic-like synth melody to draw the listener in.

HEALTH have also produced one new track on Disco2 to keep fans pleased, with USA Boys introducing the album well. The electronic melody of this track is incredibly catchy, and the juxtaposition of heavy industrial-sounding position and sweet, drawn-out vocals make this a very satisfying injection of new material from the group. If this direction is to be taken into future recordings, then the band should continue receiving critical acclaim for their off-kilter works. Disco2 is certainly a fantastic initiation for new fans and a satisfying collection of tracks for the old followers in turn.