Review Summary: your ears are in for a treat
The term Indie is pretty ambiguous. It can describe all spectrums of music these days and gets tossed around like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert. But seriously, I can mention bands like Good Old War, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Silversun Pickups and someone is going to say they are “Indie” for whatever reason. But being truly independent gives the artist 100% control of their work. This approach really allows for the most creative music to be unleashed. But it entails a lot of work and artist that do it really deserve a lot of respect. So without further ado, I’d like to introduce Zachary Garren and his project Good Health.
You probably have never heard of him and that’s ok. Hailing from California, he has released six full albums in only two years with little more than a guitar and Macbook. He’s defiantly productive, an over achiever even, but how’s the music? Well I’ll tell you, it’s damn good. His second album, appropriately titled “II” features some groovy acoustic guitar work, catchy lyrics, and an overall music experience that is riddled with nostalgia from the first listen. Chocked full of passion and easy to listen to, Good Health’s ‘II’ is nothing short of beautiful.
From only the first track you get a sense of what Zac is all about. He starts off with a simple arpeggiated guitar lick that smoothly changes to him “oooing” and “ooohing” over a funky verse. The song perfectly captures what he does for much of the album: be really unique but also simplistic, catchy, and fun. The next two songs are acoustic numbers, like much of the album, but have their own twists and turns like the energetic ending to ‘Knowledge/ the opposite of pain’. Most of the song is a melancholy acoustic tune but ends with a wild onslaught of vocal onomatopoeias and finger snaps. Unique and fun indeed.
He mixes up the whole album in this fashion with two contrasting interludes. ‘Pure’ is vibrant and beautiful, like a spring rain; while the hard- hitting “Brains” leaves you feeling caught up in a winter hailstorm. “Mountains & Oceans” opens with lyrics of a dull winter and you’d think Zac Garren did this on purpose. You get the sense of nature, not just from the music’s earthy sound but also from the raw recording. The acoustic guitars are rough and realistic, untouched by perfecting technologies, and his vocals aren’t sacrificed to cheap tricks like autotune. All the elements of the entire album are so pure and organic, as if Garren plucked them straight from the earth. Now that sounds pretty “Indie”.
With this natural, raw feel of the album also comes a more electric side. Take for example the pre-closer ‘Let’s slit our throats’ which is so reminiscent of a video game it sounds straight out of Zelda. Then there is the spacey interlude in the closer ‘Life is but a dream’ In some ways these seem almost out of place on the album, but really they only show off the creativity of Good Health.
I would describe Good Health somewhere in the vein of Animal Collective because of the constant progression and experimentation with sound. Zac has six albums and they are all different from the last. Collectively this album and much of Good Health is catchy, raw, unique and downright fun. You can’t escape the earthy feel of this album nor the urge to hum to every lyric or snap your fingers to each beat. Zachary Garren gets music. He understands the importance of this shared experience through sound waves. All of his music is free for download but support is necessary for him to make more great albums like ‘II’. It’s now time to sift through the ambiguity and give this “Indie” artist a listen. You won’t be disappointed!
Recommended:
The album from start to finish
The film 'Hot Rod'
Not Recommended:
Music by Nickeback
