HEALTH - Get Color

From the rash of noise-rock posts lately, you'd think all I listen to is bands who play at top decibel levels. Next up in the noisy pack is Los Angeles' HEALTH and the follow-up to their successful 2007 self-titled debut, Get Color. On their new album, it's clear that HEALTH have tried to expand their sound a bit (check out the droney vocals and effects on "In Heat," or the atmospheric textures of "Nice Girls"), to the point where they are more than just another noise band. Even first single, "Die Slow," has dreamy synths and washed-out vocals, recalling the '80s much more than HEALTH's feedback-friendly peers in The Smell scene. Honestly, it's a nice to hear HEALTH depart a bit from their signature sound, one which made it difficult for me to listen to them when I wasn't fully in the mood for my eardrums to be assaulted. It's clear after several listens that they put more time into Get Color than their previous work, really cultivating each track and thinking about the album as a cohesive work rather than just a bunch of songs thrown together. I'm calling it right now: 2009 will definitely be HEALTH's coming out year. They're about to get bigger than ever, kids, so make sure you jump on the bandwagon now.

DOWNLOAD: HEALTH - Get Color [Lovepump United]
Recommended Tracks: "Die Slow," "Severin," "Eat Flesh," "We Are Water."