Upon hearing the tribal drumbeats and droning sizzles of Los Angeles-based band Health, a common reaction might be slanting eyebrows, dropping jaws and fast-beating hearts.
Musically, the band is all over the place – a rambunctious crew with songs that channel the ear-bending dissonance of Sonic Youth and Deerhoof.
Health will play The Spanish Moon on Friday night with New Orleans band Magna Porta.
Bassist, electronic percussionist and noise manufacturer John Famiglietti said Health’s transition into a noise band was gradual.
“[When we started] we were very different,” Famiglietti said. “We had these epic, extended intros. It was angular, guitar-based rock ‘n’ roll with singing.”
Frustrated with tradition, the band was looking to push boundaries and started experimenting with different sounds. One key addition to the new noisy sound was the use of the new instrument – the zoothorn.
“That gets most of the attention, but it’s blown out of proportion,” Famiglietti said. “It’s really just a microphone attached to different guitar pedals.”
Though Famiglietti downplayed the instrument’s effect, its nagging sounds demand listeners’ attention. It is the sound of noise – and for now, Famiglietti would not have it any other way, even as he disregarded being put into the “noise rock” genre.
That noise has consistently permeated through the music blogosphere of Pitchfork.com and Stereogum.com since the release of their self-titled debut album. Famiglietti said that was the response the band was hoping for.
But the recording process was anything but easy, as the lead-off track “Heaven” suggests.
“Recording was hell,” Famiglietti said. “Everyday was some crazy bullshit adventure. We would go through the back door because there might be a crack smoker at the front door.”
The band recorded live in the mornings at The Smell, a venue in downtown Los Angeles.
“We had to get our equipment up there in the morning, then take it down before bands started coming for that night’s show,” Famiglietti said.
After the album was complete, the band needed something to tie the loose ends of the disjointed guitar/microphone-effect baton twirls. Famiglietti created a spaceship-like, glossy sound that unified the album.
“The album is structured deliberately,” he said. “One of the big things we were worried about was continuity, so we used this sound I created throughout the album.”
The loading and unloading of guitars and effects pedals for the record paid off as the crowd response has changed with the band’s sound.
“We have always had a good response, even when we played for five people,” Famiglietti said. “The change has been that people actually come to shows now.”
Health was a highlight at South-by-Southwest, playing the Stereogum/Paste Magazine-sponsored stage. Recently, it has played the new Wham City in Baltimore, MD., home to Dan Deacon. Unlike Deacon, who fills in his set with comedic monologues, Health takes few chat breaks during their sets.
“We don’t talk a lot during shows,” Famiglietti said. “We don’t want to waste your time.”
On the stage and in the touring van, they are not wasting any time either. They quit their day jobs, committing to the music, and have a schedule booked with tours across the globe.
In the meantime, the band will release a remix album, entitled “Health//Disco,” which started during the recording of the debut album.
Famiglietti said the band also plans to be “rapidly writing and recording the next album.”
—-Contact Matthew Sigur at [email protected]