TAYNE : "Love"

 

This British band takes notes from HEALTH when the album gets in its groove with lighter androgynous vocals, giving melodic chant that is not unlike the delivery of their California-based predecessors. It sounds good but too familiar. HEALTH is one of my favorite new bands, so I like the sonic texture of this sound. Still, I do not need a HEALTH tribute band in my rotation as I can just listen to the genuine article, so the goal of this review is to listen for who is band is, and seek out answers to who they are as artists. Rachel from Cage Fight lends her scream to "Coherent". The vocals deviate from the HEALTHy vocal phrasing, which helps solidify their identity. 

"Scars" finds them reaching a middle ground of leaning on their influences but spreading the sonic wings a little more to step out from that shadow. The guitars commonly do not occupy the forefront of the mix, which would give things a heavier crunch if they were, though the other side of this argument is it does create a more unique sonic space, rather than these guys being a metal band who dabbles in industrial. Still, they self-identify as an industrial noise-pop band, which is a fair enough explanation given the fact that industrial beats are the primary percussive drive. "Cause// Worthless" has a robotic march that is tempered by an ethereal ambiance. 

"Fear" steps into more of a middle ground by taking on most of the sonic colors they have already used and not committing to push them too strongly in either direction. In doing so this provides a pretty accurate version of who they are, if someone asked to hear this band I think it would be the most honest snapshot of who they are. "We' has more of an industrial groove to it, that coasts along the lines of what synth-driven cyberpunk sounds like in 2025. More atmosphere and experience than the previous songs. The vocals are just a haunting texture. "Wasted" has more punch and hook to it. The guitars play a larger role. 

"In This Trend" has more movement, bringing some sound from the late 80s into their pretty hate machine of sound,. It works for what this is. While the dynamics shifts on this album follow a pretty solid formula, their overall sound is cool, despite not being the most original,  I'll give this a 9, though not sure how much rotation it will get since I am more likely just going to listen to HEALTH when I am in the mood for this, but you might just want industrial noise pop and ask less questions regarding its origins. 

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Report to the Dance Floor :Health's " Death Magic"

I question some of the reviews where I have seen this project referred to has an industrial, they are edm with certainly a dark and dirty slant to it and a kick , but Industrial ? Well it took many listens to convince me of this. This is their sixth album and it's been five years in the making, so no wonder  they  have become masters at layering some clever vocal melodies over yearning grooves to create some hooks that sink into your brain and pull you along for the ride. They flirt with industrial and might even be influenced by as evident on what follows the tribal pound of  drums that open " Men Today" and their is some noise to it , while the sounds assembled are cool , for an album with such emphasis place on sex and drugs it feels like foreplay with no climax. There's an old 80s dance feel to "Flesh World" the androgynous are very fey in the same manner of Sliversun Pick ups or Savage Garden. There are some glitch ridden sounds thrown into the sonic jumble. I have always wondered if the remixes are going to sound better than the originals , then why not just make the original songs sound like that in  the first place? Well the solve that by making "Flesh World" sound like it has already been re-mixed.

There is an "Army of Me " pulse to "Courtship" , then the album begins backing off  from their industrial into more Pet Shop Boys territory on " Dark Enough". That has a slight dancehall skip to the beat. The melody turns around on the song in a way that reminds me of "Policy of Truth". Things get even poppier with "Life". The opening cadence to "Salvia" might fool some into thinking this is industrial, and it is rather close to some one like Soft Moon. But it's really just an interlude. "New Coke" is a surreal form of ghostly pop that echoes behind the beat. Out of the darkness that has generally been the rule of thumb for this albums comes the sparkle of "L.A. Looks". This could be played on the dance floor of any hispter dive.

There is a little bit of a witch house thing going on in the production, some of it has the old school Zola Jesus lo-fi quality to it and this is brought out on "Hurt Yourself". The album ends with the very fitting " Drugs are Real" whose lyrics makes me think of a few old friend and takes me to a place of morbid reflection on my drug days. I like where the vocals sit in the mix on this one.I'll give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me , it is good enough for me to want to dig into their previous albums.