I wish that Health were the album that it wants to be. The Heavy Blinkers present an album that tries hard to be a lost east coast Brian Wilson treasure, but miss the mark. Elements are certainly there – the Van Dykes Park style orchestration is perhaps the highlight of the disk as it carries the mood throughout, “Anna Karina, I Was Wrong” being one particularly strong example.
Where Health struggles is as a pop album. It’s a lofty goal to make a Brian Wilson album. In his later career Brian Wilson himself has struggled to do that very thing with mixed success. It’s actually helpful to think of this more as a score, which had been part of founding Blinker Jason Michael MacIsaac’s creative process at the time. Apparently written as a musical, complete with guest vocals from Jenn Grant, Sondre Lerche and the High Llamas’ Sean O’Hagan.
It’s not quite as good as it ought to be; as an isolated score, it’s more successful, particularly the orchestration by David Christensen. As a song cycle though, it falters when it is weighed down by the lyrics. (Factor, factor.ca) Devin King