Friday 10/23: HEALTH—"POWER FANTASY" Feat. 100 gecs
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song from the L.A. noise-rock band HEALTH, featuring 100 gecs.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song from the L.A. noise-rock band HEALTH, featuring 100 gecs.
HEALTH—"POWER FANTASY" Feat. 100 gecs
Eli Enis:
The idea for HEALTH’s new project, DISCO4 :: PART 1, is to collaborate with as many acts as possible. From Soccer Mommy and JPEGMAFIA to Full of Hell and Ghostmane, the project reads like an exercise in eclecticism. The thing is, on their own, HEALTH are incredibly stylized and, if not singular in sound, then definitely singular in tone band. Everything they do is pretty dark and noisy and industrial, so I was curious to hear how that would mesh with 100 gecs, who are noisy in a neon way as opposed to a many-shades-of-black way.
Overall, I think “POWER FANTASY” feels a little half-baked. 100 gecs made their first record by sending files back and forth with one another, and this song sounds like it was also made via email—but by people who weren’t really comfortable with each other. The track has a few different movements: a moody intro that slowly unravels into dubstep gurgles, a short-lived house beat, and a really transcending bass breakdown that places Laura Les’ piercing yelp above grinding noise. That particular moment sounds like the amazing midway point these two acts were searching for, but by the time they find it the track ends within 45 seconds. Everyone’s trying to get a piece of the gecs these days and this doesn’t sound like a waste of their time, but it does feel a bit superfluous.
Eric Bennett:
HEALTH has long felt like a distant, lofty act to me; too high concept and experimental for me to gel with. This is likely just me projecting onto them, but this is my newsletter blurb, so project I shall. Despite their debut feeling like peak Basilica Soundscape-core, their new album makes me think the icy exterior is thawing. The collaborations on it range from acts I love (100 gecs, Soccer Mommy) to those that I notably dislike (Xiu Xiu). This is the Endless Scroll newsletter, so obviously we’re writing about the gecs song. “POWER FANTASY” does a marvelous job balancing each act's particular strains of electronic music. It opens with a rising sound that may as well be a second cousin to the THX Deep Sound, but still meanders into whirring synths and crashing drum machines. The track breaks down into what is briefly an attractive dance beat, only to be interrupted by Laura Les-filled dubstep. It gives us cold, steely moments living in perfect harmony with frantic chaos.