Previous Diagnoses:

Paradise Lost|Primus|Faith No More|Paramore

Good day denizens of Sputnik, and welcome to the fifth instalment of Dr. Gonzo’s “Diagnosis Series”. Today’s issue will be on L.A. trio HEALTH; looking through their mainline LPs, with a couple of recommended supplements for you to check out, just because they’re too good to pass up. So let me put on my gloves and let’s check out what this band is all about.

Band/Artist: HEALTH

Origins: Los Angeles, California U.S.

Founded: 2005

Current Members:
Jake Duzsik: (vocals, guitar)

John Famiglietti: (bass, pedals, electronics)

BJ Miller: (drums) 

Previous members:

Jupiter Keyes (guitar, synths)

Studio albums: 4

Active: Yes

 Health (2007)

The Doctor’s rating: 4/5

Analysis: HEALTH’s 2007 debut is in stark contrast to what the band is producing these days, but in spite of the stylistic differences, the band’s first album is still incredibly enjoyable and displays their promising potential for the future. Since the band’s genesis was founded in the underbelly of the L.A. noise rock scene, their sound here is vastly experimental, albeit, never to the point of being obtuse. The album largely lends its sonic influences from bands like Ex Models’ Zoo Psychology or a mid-noughties Liars album, like They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, but the distinction between these examples and this is that Health…

Slowdive: A Sputnik Guide

This feature is part of a newly-rebooted series aimed at exploring the discographies of interesting and/or important bands whose wider body of work is often overlooked on this site. There will be lots of words and a few pictures, but the main deal is that if a band features here, they are good and you should listen to them! And if you already jam them, hit up the comments and explain where and why I went wrong! Get going!

Previously covered discographies:

Stereolab・Sweet Trip・Blonde Redhead

Everyone loves Slowdive! One of the rare bands to come out of shoegaze and dream pop playing both genres their own while playing them to the best of their potential, their value has gone up and up and up over the last decade, and neither the past decade’s outpouring of soppy bedroom artists through every pore of the internet nor  shoegaze’s TikTok resurgence aren’t entirely to blame for it. Let’s all love Slowdive!

With Souvlaki‘s 30th anniversary back in June and Just for a Day’s 32nd just last week (along with a new LP, Everything is Alive), it is time to remember this greatest of  it is time to dive once into the shoe, to gaze once more at the slow. I’m going to cover every individual release here (no comps!), and I ended up doing it so quickly that I entirely forgot that Frippertronics actually made his own version of this list in 2017 until I was 75% of the way through. Six years and…

Previous Diagnoses:

Paradise Lost|Primus|Faith No More

Good day denizens of Sputnik and welcome to the fourth instalment of Dr. Gonzo’s “Diagnosis Series”. Today I will be looking at Paramore, the Franklin, Tennessee outfit that captured the hearts and minds of an entire generation back in the mid-noughties, with their own brand of pop-punk. So, get out of the waiting room chair and observe the doctor, as I go through all six of their studio albums and conclude if they’re worth half a damn or not. 

Band/Artist: Paramore

Origins: Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.

Founded: 2004

Current Members:
Hayley Williams: (vocals, keyboards)

Zac Farro: (drums, keyboards)

Taylor York: (guitar, keyboards)

Previous members:

Josh Farro (guitar)

Jeremy Davis: (bass)

Jason Bynum: (guitar)

John Hembree: (bass)

Hunter Lamb: (guitar)

Studio albums: 6

Active: Yes

All We Know is Falling (2005)

The Doctor’s rating: 3/5

Analysis: For me, All We Know is Falling is fine. It’s a decent first album that lays down the groundwork for future records. Hayley delivers some great performances on the likes of “Pressure”, “Emergency” and “Conspiracy”, and the music does a decent job of toeing the pop-punk line with some energetic drum work and infectious guitar melodies. Other than that, there’s not much else to say here.…

Previous Diagnoses:

Paradise Lost|Primus 

Hello music enthusiasts and welcome to the third instalment of Dr.Gonzo’s ‘Diagnosis Series’, where I go through a band or artist’s studio recordings and find their strengths and weaknesses, recommending a few things along the way. Today we’ll be looking at San Francisco’s venerable legends Faith No More to unpack their capricious career, which ultimately led to a sublime streak of near-perfect albums, as well as the iffy ones. So grab Bjork’s fish and prepare to gasp in excitement or terror.

Band/Artist: Faith No More

Origins: San Francisco, California, U.S.

Founded: 1979

Current Members:
Mike Bordin (drums)

Billy Gould (bass)

Roddy Bottum (keyboards, rhythm guitar)

Mike Patton (vocals)

Jon Hudson (lead guitar)

Previous members:

Mike Morris (guitar, vocals)

Wade Worthington (keyboards)

Courtney Love (vocals)

Mark Bowen (guitar)

Chuck Mosley (vocals)

Jim Martin (guitar)

Trey Spruance (guitar)

Dean Menta (guitar)

Studio albums: 7

Active: Hiatus(?)

We Care a Lot (1985)

The Doctor’s rating: 2/5

Analysis: I feel like Faith No More’s trajectory was very similar to how Iron Maiden started out their career. Like Iron Maiden, FNM started out with a very different sounding vocalist for their first two albums, and although Di’Anno and Mosley both bring…