Is that a (self) conscious allusion to the Dinosaur Jr. album "Where You Been?"? I neither know nor care. Or maybe I do, since I mentioned it. Anyway, this guy rhymes "said" and "head" in the opening moments of this album—and friends, he gets away with it. But only just. Later on, "Summertime" starts not with the livin' is easy, but "I was born in a hurry / I grew up and out / And married the first girl / Who kissed me on the mouth." And the last song reminds us that "Our soft skin / Lets the chiggers in." Health provide straight-up frayed-at-the-edges-mid-paced-country-blues-rock-n-roll. There's just a slight hint of the "Bunny Gets Paid"/ "There's a Star over the Manger Tonight" Red Red Meat in here, although they're not quite that good (but who is?). And a lot of the "Exile on Main Street" Rolling Stones. What I like about this band is that when they get loud, they don't necessarily speed up from the shuffling pace at which they started. And they're not pitch-perfect, but they're close enough. They like drawing out those syllables when they’re singing. They like soft-loud-soft-loud-soft. They probably like Low, come to think of it.

But mentioning a bunch of similarities to other bands does not a record review make. The truth of the matter is that Health aren't breaking any particularly new ground with this album. But they are doing what they do well. The lyrics are thoughtful, and so is the music, and it all has just enough scrappiness to suggest that real people, and not some Williamsburg wannabe hipster shitheads are making this music. It sounds like they care. And it sounds like they have fun. It sounds like they have the kind of fun that doesn't involve telling themselves that they're having fun.

So, you know, go out and by a case of beer or a bottle of whiskey and invite some friends over before you put this album on. It's that kind of music, and when that kind of music is done well, it pretty much can't go wrong. Of course, when it's done badly, it don’t get much worse, folks, but luckily for us, Health do it well.