Up & Coming Artists #4: Health

Health
Opposites Attract = Epic Win

Four piece experimental noise rock band Health are from Los Angeles, home of the 'rich and famous' and also all things gloriously fake in this world. The destination of promise and prosperity, where anyone can become famous for 30 seconds.
However, it seems this falic reality has not rubbed off on these guys.
Health are most known for their collaboration with Crystal Castles, where the two bands remixed Health's track 'Crimewave' for CC's debut album, which debuted at #9 on the UK indie singles chart.
The band have already released their self titled debut album back in September 2007, that received an 8/10 from NME and Drowned in Sound.
Looking at the band collectively, they look like an odd bunch. Grown up math/emo rockers with a dance kick to their inspiration and a hunger to really fuck people up with their experimental goodness. I suppose you could sum up Noise Rock as just American bands who try to be Pendulum, but without the whole DnB take on things. Except I don't think Health really are Noise Rock, they're something completely new; well obviously there have to be some bands out there that sound a bit like them, but I've never heard a band for a while with such a diverse sound. Like an indie version of Reuben, but with a bit more swagger.

The opening track to their album 'Heaven' is 2:37 of pure instrumental goodness, that only actually starts at around 0:17. At first I thought there was something wrong with my speakers, so I decided it would be a good idea to turn them up full blast and click in the middle of the song, at which point my dad yelled up the stairs: "Turn that fucking shit OFF!". Nice to know my father can talk to me civily sometimes.
The real gem in their sound can be found in 'Triceratops', it sound like Muse gone goth, only that Matt Belamy have developed a speech impediment. I can sense influences of The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Gun 'n' Roses in their music, but also less well known synthony rockers Earth, that specialise in songs that last for decades.
I really think that at the end of listening to their album, I've aged about 10 years, but also remarkably I'm now 50 years wiser!
Health is a band that laughs in the face of stereotypes, they break all the rules of conventional dance/punk and re-write the rulebook in track 'Courtship', only to blow it up with a heatseeking RPG from 100 miles away on track 'Tabloid Sores'.
They literally are the experimental rock version of Crystal Castles. They make you feel nauceous and overpowered, like staring at a strobe light for more than a minute. Although, they also astound you and blow you away with every strum and every bang. Tracks to look out for on their album are 'Triceratops', 'Glitter Pills' and 'Perfect Skin'.
They are quite simply, An Epic Win!