Health - "Health"

Health - Crimewave (Lovepump United 2007)

Health - Health / Lovepump United

We were going to write about the new Liars record at one point, just like we were going to write about M.I.A. Honest we were. And it's not because they stand as Important in the broad scheme of indie schmaltz. It's because Liars are genuinely interesting at what they do, and their sound never stays the same; for M.I.A., the difference is in using ethnic instruments you otherwise never would've heard of.

But for one reason or another, the opportunity passed us by, and unless Michael decides he has it in him to give a dissertation on The Evolution of Angus, you won't be hearing anything from us about it. Instead, we thought we'd highlight yet another group coming out of The Smell scene in LA (although Health are more frequently found at Il Corral when in town). No Age, Silver Daggers, The Mae Shi, Mika Miko, Barr, you know the list. These like-minded outsiders have put together one of the most ceaselessly inventive rock scenes of the decade, and in the past year or so their finest have put out some really stellar records that we've covered occasionally here on Audiversity.

Health is next in line and the quartet have already been trumped for their split 7" with lauded Canadian duo Crystal Castles, which features the Italians-don't-necessarily-do-it-better no wave masterpiece "Glitter Pills." The self-titled debut on deck stands as one of the better outsider records of 2007. In keeping with both their kindred spirits in Toronto and in New York (or Berlin, or wherever the nomadic Liars are playing with Interpol tonight), Health demonstrates that it is possible to mix the unpretentious party atmosphere with avant-garde sensibilities for a brief but furious lesson in just not giving a fuck.

And with eleven songs on the ballot, there are plenty of opportunities for you to dive in. From the celestial wrath of opener "Heaven" to the thorny aggression of "Triceratops," you keep hearing sounds you swear you recognize - if it's not Crystal Castles (as "Glitter Pills" appropriately nods to), it's Health's mid-July tourmates in Aa (and you'll definitely hear that Amazonian no wave in "Crimewave" here with its big drums and demanding beat). Sure, there are Liars... But it's more like if Liars had been birthed in the past two years instead of in 2001 when we hadn't yet drowned because they were wrong. It's also more like if Black Dice had kept to their hardcore roots a little more instead of diving off the deep end of the beaches and canyons that paved the way for what they've mutated into.

In some ways it also brings to mind nu-rave and the busy sonic structures of the younger kids out of Britain, say a Hadouken! or somebody like that. I'm not sure Health would argue - having just returned from a visit over there, I doubt their brightly colored outfits and in-your-face analog style would have gone down poorly. But they're carving out their own niche (and I'm sorry I haven't done more justice to it here by namedropping everybody under the sun, but trust me when I say Health are well on their way to creating a distinctive sound of their own), bred on the streets of the fashion-dominated LA scene where a small but vibrant arts community is keeping alive the spirit of the new millennium: Party, but party with an informed sensibility of where you come from. Health seem to know where they've come from, but more importantly, their self-titled debut gives a good indication that they don't know where they're going. More than anything else on this lively but lightning-quick record, it's the thrill of meshing those sounds together that keeps it interesting. Young, fresh, brilliant and bullet-fast: Health have arrived.