HEALTH / BLISS SIGNAL | LIVE REVIEW
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Fri 29 Mar
It’s been an interesting career trajectory for LA’s Health. From their beginnings as an experimental noise rock band to their newer incarnation as a more industrial outfit, Health’s sound has evolved significantly since their 2007 debut. Now hot on the heels of the release of fourth album Vol. 4 :: Slaves Of Fear, the band hit Clwb Ifor Bach for a second time, bringing their new approach and new songs with them.
Tour support Bliss Signal begin their set amid various sound problems, forcing them to stop and start over. When they do begin, the two-piece are quite unengaging, playing with just two flickering lights on the floor either side of them which almost entirely hides the guitarist in darkness save for his legs while the other member nonchalantly presses buttons on a little laptop. Their mix of lo-fi black metal riffing with electronic beats seem a bit subdued compared to the headliner and don’t do much to prepare the crowd for what’s to come.
Health arrive on stage to a very warm reception, and head straight in to some new tracks as the crowd get moving. Things really kick into gear with older favourites Die Slow and Stonefist, which fit in well among newer cuts like Feel Nothing and God Botherer. The band have had to adjust their approach to live shows since the departure of the awesomely named Jupiter Keyes in 2015, after which Health have continued on as a three-piece. This means a lot of his contributions are now in the form of a backing track queued in by bassist John Famiglietti. The electronics are a large part of Health’s sound: guitar and bass contributions are subtle to the point of Famiglietti and frontman Jake Duzsik hardly seeming to touch their instruments for much of the set, leaving drummer Benjamin Miller to carry a lot of the musical weight during live shows. His frantic, machine-gun drumming really takes the show to another level, and despite Keyes’ absence, older songs are still rendered faithfully even if they do have to rely on a backing track.
There’s no question that Health’s material has become a lot more commercial and accessible over time, and the insane percussion of older tracks like Crimewave or the freakout of Girl Attorney are nowhere to be seen on tonight’s setlist. Yet the band make up for this with sheer energy and enthusiasm, and after an intense performance of older track We Are Water and an encore of Crusher, you can’t deny that they still put on a great show.
words MATT LEE photos SIMON AYRE