HEALTH / DISCO

Health / Disco is a compilation of remixes; artists including Acid Girls and Pictureplane remix Health songs to create a surprisingly coherent album. Triceratops (Acid Girls Remix A) is indicative of what I like so much about this album. The base line has a rough and raw, almost sinister feeling while the melodies are smoother, but still punchy and tight; they make me think of the synth music in some early NES games. Acid Girls are able to strike a great balance between repetition and variation. New motifs are explored to the fullest, but never with the droll repetition of some other techno. Whether it's the changing way a musical line fits within the greater texture of the song or variations to the line itself, this album stays interesting without cheating you out of your favorite parts. Though it's not similar, I would compare this album favorably to Nightripper; lots of new ideas are introduced and while Girltalk often leaves me wanting more, Health / Disco leaves me satisfied. I'm dancing in my chair, and people are giving me weird looks.