‘Fuck the kids!’ exclaims Jake Duzsik, guitarist of HEALTH, the L.A four-piece that have been become the sweethearts of noise-rock. Upon meeting the fashionable, chatty and remarkably eloquent group, backstage at their final U.K date in London, it is difficult to believe that these genuine and intelligent individuals should be the catalyst of an increasingly popular noise scene—after all, if Razorlight have taught us anything it’s that popularity is akin to dilution, selling-out and an all round detestable ‘so-messy-its-actually-styled’ haircut. However, what separates HEALTH from transient fad bands and casts them in the mould of Liars and Les Savy Fav is their dedication to a punk ethic that many of us thought dead, an ethic centred upon community, energy and being fucking loud.
Like most punk bands, HEALTH are not without controversy. All too aware of their legitimacy being spoilt by the fashionistas, HEALTH have armed themselves with an ‘anti-fashion’, ‘fuck the kids’ outlook, vocally disregarding the ‘fantasy sweepstakes of indie-rock’ that allows them to become a token noise act in an indie landscape. There are many causes to speculate upon as to why HEALTH have managed to tap into the notorious fickle indie scene unlike their predecessors. Perhaps it’s because of their cool clothes, and amiable demeanour, perhaps the notoriously fickle indie-scene is cottoning on to music beyond 3 chords, or perhaps, as John Famiglietti tells me, the word ‘indie’ just doesn’t make any sense.
‘We exist in an indie world’ Jake elaborates, noting that HEALTH are ‘not an indie band’, and citing Animal Collective as another band painted with the indie brush, who are not ‘indie’ as we define it. Proof of this is HEALTH’s recent tour with Fuck Buttons, another populist noise band, chosen simply because, in John’s words ‘us noise bands have to stick together’. It would be easy for HEALTH to get swept away with the tide of fame but instead the band has stood devoted to their noise-religion, kneeling to the god of basement gigs and dirty floors. So what is the result? Meticulously thought-out gigs, intentionally short gigs(‘we don’t want to outstay our welcome’- John) which manipulate energy, taking fans from ‘A to B to C’ that a growing discography allows for.
What is unmissable after five minutes with the group is the sentiment that no matter how successful HEALTH become, and probably whatever they earn, the fans will always be the main focus, the current Willy Wonka exploit being prime example. Having borne the idea some years ago, but without the infrastructure at the time for the first release, HEALTH recently placed 66 tickets into the first batch of U.S releases of current album Get Color. Various prizes were offered, some simply hilarious (‘rejuvenating face mask and framed picture of B.J’s mother) and others spectacular, such as the opportunity to spend an all expenses paid 3 days with HEALTH in L.A, at their home, at the zoo, and up magic mountain. It is easy to interpret a ploy like this as pretence, as a conceited attempt to convey themselves as ‘kooky’- a bit like how Florence Welsh makes it impossible for me to keep my dinner down every single bloody day. However, HEALTH ooze an authenticity Florence could only dream of, simply telling me ‘Well, Jupiter really likes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. So why not?’ continuing that the chance to ‘smoke salvea up magic mountain’ and ‘film who will puke’ is an opportunity too good to waste.
Two minutes quickly turns into twenty, and the boys need to get on stage. We’ve covered a lot. We’ve established from John that Taylor Swift’s album is ‘cool’ but just has too many songs, and that no matter how much Jake protests, according to John, Jake belongs to Lady Gaga. It’s acts like this that make all the bullshit of the current scene bearable, and it won’t be long until we are all signing up for national HEALTH service.
Posted In Features, Dec 08 2009.
Words - Coco