Drowned in Sound

Search



health disco

HEALTH: HEALTH//DISCO

17 votes
?
by Mike Diver

It’s rarer than the proverbial hen’s tooth to find an LP of remixes of a quality enough to stand on merits entirely of their own, the source material of its more straight-faced (comparatively speaking) record banished from memory by the rush and tumble of the new, but HEALTH//DISCO somehow transports the listener to a place where the LA foursome’s DiS-acclaimed self-titled – which provides the backbone of this collection’s beat skeleton – needn’t be over analysed prior to the digestion of eleven tracks that skittle and skirt the conventionalisms of modern dance music, splicing avant-percussion with retro synth stabs straight out of early-‘90s European pop-house. And…

Everything, one hit after the next, rising BMP rates matched pulse for pulse by the beat of hearts pumping in unison with banshee-shrieked vocals pummelled by swathes of pure-white noise, popped and peppered liberally with catchall electrified melodies clobbering cartoon catchiness with clubs of solid steel. Still with me? Catch up: breath, release, release. //DISCO is unrelenting in its insistence that you drop a shoulder the way of some sexy thing across the floor and dash a beeline to their dancing feet, following the footsteps as the band strikes up another anthem to have android cheerleaders tossing themselves off tall buildings regardless of whether or not their metal bodies can take the hit. It muddles cheese with ice-cool hipster jams, Haddaway with No Age; somewhere in the middle smiling youths let loose with no regard for hype or fashion, no care that they’re muttered as an afterthought in a conversation about the potential of Crystal Castles. Nobody needs to hear ‘Crimewave’ augmented by the Canadian pair again; everyone needs to hear…

Everything, one hit after the next, repeat to freak-out, fading before the pitch’s slowed not an option. The Thrust Lab mix of ‘Problem Is’ slides on Tron lines, crisp-edged and silken of core; ‘Perfect Skin’ gets punked, daftly, by Curses! and only your Dazed-reading mates know for sure; ‘Triceratops’ is decon-recon’ed thrice and not once treads a path already navigated, the standout the Beverly Hills Cop-sweet CFCF mix which could be The Fucking Champs’ ‘Policenauts’ had rockers known which devilish denizens of the dancefloor to swallow and which to spit. Someone needs to mix West Side Story with The Warriors and employ the cast and crew of this record to soundtrack the brilliantly choreographed graphic violence. It’ll look amazing, and sound like…

Everything, one hit after the next, scattered fragments of whispers of something so necessary bubbling below a surface so incandescent that staring at it too long is like the best sugar-rush of your life. You can take it two ways: ride a train with the beats tinny in your ears, or get outside of yourself in a club. Either way your experience can only ever be your own, HEALTH still a force without a true focus, a grasped-for goal. Album two may see an outline of refinement established, but for now their doldrums meanderings are more exhilarating than many acts’ most-accomplished must-haves, making this a two-from-two contender for a top-ten year-end finish.

  • HEALTH 9 / 10

Well, i've heard this record.

and it's not deserving of a score like that, and i've heard several records this year that's are obviously stronger than that that've been scored lower. I realise it's just one persons opinion and it's all objective, but no, just no.


Fair points

But I guess it's quite unique in the sense that firstly, it's a dance album coming out of the leftfield, and secondly, it's an album made up exclusively of remixes of one artist. In that sense I guess the score this has received probably shouldn't be comparable to say, a Bon Iver review, to give a crap example

There's not that much out there (or reviewed on DiS, at any rate) that can really be lumped in with this if we're comparing scores


. . .

This can:
http://drownedinsound.com/release/view/9304

And the Bloc Party remix LP. But neither are as good as this.


Subjective

not objective.


i think this is better

than HEALTH. just about. it certainly goes live > disco > album for me, anyway.


Interesting reveiw

I haven't heard it all yet as my copy is in the post but I look orward to it. HEALTH live are just out of this world it made me love the album even more and gt their sound alot easyer. HEALTH//DISCO looks pretty damn sweet and easily the best remix album since......ummm.... Bloc Party and NIN there might be some more.


I agree with DiS

Good record wasn't slimed with a shitty remix album. (Indeed, remix > good record... 1st time evah?!)


Iggy Pops remix of Raw Power

was pretty good...


It makes a lot more sense this way

its better then the original album


Here:

www.myspace.com/healthdisco

You can download some of the tracks for free.

I really like it from what I've heard. I'm not sure if it warrants a 9 though.


there has

been a lot of 8's and 9's going on lately. I'm not so sure.


Miles better than original Health

Though it's not a 9, more a solid 8, but DIS gives high scores out like they're going out of fashion. Horribly worded review in places too.

I never expected a remix album to be this good if I'm honest, although most of tracks bare no resemblance to the originals. The Acid Girls re-working of 'Triceratops' is amazing.


Better than original.

Which scored an 8.
Hence a 9.
Sorry we're not Pitchfork. If we were: 8.675.

Peas.


If its better than the original

I will be very suprised indeed.... so bring it on I say.


Fair enough

I was ore questioning the plethora of high scores in general, not just for this.

And I'm glad you're not Pitchfork!


HEALTH

I guess those who are into their noise music are more likely to appreciate the original album. Whilst those who like something a little more structured and beats-ey would prefer this.

Having said that, I haven't read this review or listened to the remix album so my view is (more) invalid (than usual.)

Bloody good live though.


I finaly got this

an I dont think its as good as the original album.

I love dance music too. I think HEALTH loose a little something when they are tightly structured in a dance template.

I guess its a nice addition to have thoug, overal its damn fun.