Argument: blogs are killing albums. We cherry pick the best songs for you to download bypassing the need to buy the album. We could debate that argument and whether we’d like to admit it or not, there is some truth to it. But the bigger truth is blogs are not killing albums any more than CDs did in the 80’s. Albums are evolving, changing and being shaped into something new.

HEALTH’s Disco is interesting — for a few reasons, but most noteworthy: many of the songs on the album had been posted on blogs months and months before release, probably even before the idea of a release had been conceived. In blog years, this collection is ancient. Yet somehow it is pulled together in a way that seems fresh — and more importantly — feels like an album. In fact, I would argue that this is the first album I’ve heard this year that feels like an album in the traditional sense. There are highs and lows. It tells a story. It needs to be heard straight through and without pause; on repeat.

There are so many different producers — Acid Girls, CFCF, Curses!, Pink Skulls, Crystal Castles, the list goes on — yet it is a total cohesive album. Honestly, this disc shouldn’t work in this way. Remix albums never work as albums. They’re a hodgepodge of ideas; a somewhat unflattering juxtaposition of sounds. The perfect excuse to cherry pick. And let’s not forget, remix albums are disposable… an afterthought. But Disco isn’t a remix album. It’s an album in its own right and it works and is anything but an afterthought.

Acid Girls opens Disco with a remix of “Triceratops” that acts as a preface to the entire disc. At this point it is almost impossible to choose one mp3 off this album, but this is the one that does it. It lays out the entire album for your ears and should leave you hungry for more:

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HEALTH – “Triceratops” (Acid Girls rmx A) (mp3)

But really, you need to hear Disco from start to finish. Out now on Lovepump United. Purchase from iTunes or wherever you buy albums.

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