Autolux, HEALTH @ El Rey, 2/1/08

HEALTH is an experimental noise rock band from Los Angeles. I saw them open for Autolux at the El Rey Theatre Friday night. They are really great live, and even better than the album! I personally wished that they were a little louder (there's really no other way to hear their debut self-titled LP than at full volume!) but nonetheless they were still damn entertaining. I also missed some of the video game sounding effects on "Triceratops", but the absence of them didn't effect their incredible, adrenaline pumping experience that much. On the album, this song sounds like the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic video game themed rollercoaster with dinosaur-head shaped oscillating sprinklers that shoot liquid acid onto the screaming passengers.

The singer/guitarist had a T-shirt that read in all caps "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK" and I guess you could say that this music can fit your mood when you feel the same way. It's loud, abrasive yet fluid, mechanical, aggressive, spontaneous...very similar to Boredoms, or a more raw and stripped down Battles. The drummer really beats the demons out of those drums, and everyone in the band has so much energy and is hopping around so damn much that I was having Pokemon Snap flashbacks while taking pics. I felt like these guys were on stage for about 30 minutes, close to the length of their album. I can't wait to see them at The Smell (where they recorded their album and have been playing live shows at forever)! Please make sure to catch them there on 4/20 (uh oh)!



Okay, so it's about fucking time I got to see Autolux. They've played at so many festivals where I missed them, and after seeing them live, I wish I had caught them all the previous times before. Although the songs do stick to the same structure as on the album, they are a lot heavier, louder, and more shoegazy on stage! I think that their only current LP, Future Perfect, would have highly benefited from, oh, let's say, Steve Albini's production, because it's a little too polished, in my opinion.

Singer/bassist Eugene Goreshter looked like he was having a great time up there because he had a permanent mischievous Joker grin. He sang with a confident ease...Drummer Carla Azar looks very similar to Karen O and has a super cool transparent drumset. I love it when the drummer sings on some of the songs, and she does a fine job of doing it. She was sporting a metallic-silver looking leotard kind of thing (i don't know what the hell you'd call it) and a loose fitting silver top, which matched up well with guitarist Greg Edwards' Gibson SG, which was covered in what appeared to be aluminum foil, as did Eugene's Fender Bass.

They ripped through a handful of hits off Future Perfect, such as Turnstile Blues and Blanket, and a few new songs that I haven't heard yet. We'll all hear the new songs soon enough on the upcoming album which is scheduled for a non-specified release date this year.

All in all, they sound incredible live, but I would have liked to see a little more energy on stage. At least some feet stomping or something, but I guess shoegaze didn't get the name from them tapdancing on stage, haha.














Spotted at the Show: Pixies' guitarist Joey Santiago!