Photo by Renata Raksha

When I catch HEALTH frontman Jake Duzsik after a brief game of phone tag earlier this month, he seems pretty stressed, or at least distracted. He'll admit it's par for the course-- he describes himself and the rest of his bandmates as "high-strung and neurotic," words that also apply to their screeching electro-noise grind. "We could be in a fucking bar band that covers ZZ Top and we'd be stressing out all the time about what shirt we were going to wear to the show," he half-jokes. Duzsik is passing the day in Nashville a couple of weeks into HEALTH's tour with Crystal Castles, and he occasionally gets lost in his thoughts, apologizes for his frequent use of "kind of," and, midway through, answers an undisclosed knock at the door.

Crystal Castles: "Suffocation (HEALTH Remix)"

In hindsight, it's tempting to use the guitarist/vocalist's scattered state as a clue to HEALTH's subsequent cancellation of some of those Crystal Castles dates, but the two bands are close friends, and Duzsik was effusive about how much fun they were having testing out their respective new material. Though they've been mum on the official reasons for getting off the road, it's possible that Duzsik just wanted to get back into the studio to put HEALTH's follow-up to 2009's Get Color on tape. Not only has it been three years since their last LP, but their soundtrack to this year's Max Payne 3 gave them the kind of exposure that's unthinkable for most bands in 2012-- only in the video game world can a big title move 440,000 copies in its first month and be considered something of a letdown.

We spoke about the pressure to strike while the iron's hot, the expectations of pop audiences, and why the upcoming record is so important for the band.

"After you've been around for a little while, it feels like

your third record needs to be something that stays--

rock bands don't tend to age like wine."

Pitchfork: HEALTH do a lot of non-album music-- remixes, collaborations, soundtracks-- so how important is making the actual LPs?

Jake Duzsik: It's the most important thing. And that's why it takes us so long. We toured a lot after Get Color, maybe a little bit more than we should have. It burned us out. But we were still writing. And then if we hadn't done the Max Payne 3 soundtrack, we would have had a record out now. But that's one of those opportunities you can't really turn down, especially for a band like us-- a very interesting chance to apply ourselves in a completely different way.

But to answer your question directly, it hasn't in any way become a peripheral issue. I understand that in the dance music world now, if you're Skrillex or whatever, you can just release an EP or drop a single on the internet. We would love to be able to do that, but that's not how things exist right now for "band" bands. Also, we grew up with records. So even though no one listens to them that way any more, we really geek out about, like, how the record is sequenced. What's a good third song? What's a good closer? Should there be a cool down after the closer? It's really important to us.

HEALTH: "USA BOYS"

Pitchfork: How far along are you with the new record then?

JD: It's pretty much written in its entirety, we're testing things out live. There's a lot more electronic elements to this album, so we're focusing as much as possible on mixing and getting it to feel the way we want. We still have to track some stuff, so we're going into a studio immediately after this tour.

Pitchfork: How is this album more electronic than your previous work?

JD: It's a pretty linear culmination of what the band has been doing-- there'll be elements from the remix records and the stuff you hear in Max Payne. It's still going to be really drum-heavy and aggressive. We tried to move away from what the first record sounded like on Get Color and we're taking that to its logical conclusion on this next one. We're still a four-piece band with guitars and drums and bass and everything, but we're also trying to experiment and find a way to not get bored.

Pitchfork: Which artists inspired you between Get Color and now?

JD: We've been listening to a lot of what would be termed IDM. Whenever Burial puts out something, we're all really interested. John [Famiglietti], our bass player, is way more into the electronic music scene right now. Usually, though, when we get really inspired by music, it's old music. But none of the songs are really direct references to anything-- though there is one where the vocal melody sounds like a John Cougar Mellencamp song to me.

Pitchfork: I cannot wait to hear that one.

JD: I don't think you're going to be able to tell, dude.

Photo by Eric Coleman

Pitchfork: Will you guys do all of the recording in Los Angeles again?

JD: Yeah, we're an L.A. band. We self-recorded and produced and mixed the first record at The Smell. And then we worked in a downtown L.A. studio on the second one. For this one, we're going to a studio in Hollywood. We're gonna be co-producing with this guy Woody Jackson, who we met through doing the Max Payne 3 soundtrack. He's got an impeccable ear and amazing amounts of gear. We're not really a "hand over the reins" type of band-- we have a pretty strong idea of how we want the record to sound-- but we just want someone we can collaborate with.

HEALTH: "Tears" [Max Payne 3 soundtrack] (via SoundCloud)

Pitchfork: After making the Max Payne 3 soundtrack, what kind of feedback did you get from not only older HEALTH fans, but also from people who may have found out about the band from that soundtrack?

JD: It definitely accessed a very different demographic of people. The number one reaction from HEALTH fans was, "What the fuck? You guys are doing a video game score?" Just surprise. And very congratulatory. From gamers, we got a lot of really good feedback-- you get a lot of exposure to people who would never hear your music otherwise. And the platform for video games as an entertainment property is so massive now that millions of people end up hearing it. It was fun to make music that was atypical for that sort of entertainment.

"The new album is more fun--

'fun' being a relative term with our band."

Pitchfork: In terms of lyrics, are there any themes or emotions that run through the album?

JD: It varies-- it's not something I typically like to talk about, but not because of any sensitive, touchy-feely thing. It's just that I'm a voracious music-journalist and biography reader and I can't remember any time that I've ever read anyone talking about how they write their lyrics and it not sounding stupid. Let's just say: On this record, we're trying to be a bit more direct. But by and large no one can fucking hear what I'm saying anyways, and no one reads the lyric sheet, so it's kind of a moot point.

As far as a tag line goes, we said the first record sounded "evil," and the second one was "sad-evil," so this one is bordering on more melancholic, but it's also also more fun-- "fun" being a relative term with our band.

Pitchfork: Have your overall goals changed for this record?

JD: After you've been around for a little while, it feels like your third record needs to be something that stays. Ultimately, you're not going to get too many chances. Rock bands don't tend to age like wine.