Philadelphia-based Public Health – the brainchild of singer-songwriter Alex Moxam – appears to have set out to answer that question in a handful of recent releases, and the answer is a confident yes. Already in tracks which came out last year, like ‘All Blue Everything’, this new trajectory of exploration of the building blocks of rock music (primarily, but far from exclusively, acoustic) was clear; also a show of versatility for an artist who had already developed a fairly distinctive voice, and perhaps in so doing gained the confidence to dabble with a more stripped-down, streamlined sound.
Working with simplicity may look easier, but that is often deceptive; while it can be true that less is better, that also requires a much greater precision and focus, a cleanness and punctuality of structure that is made essential by the fact that there are no spare parts left to hide behind. Very often, simplicity done well is the domain of the experienced and accomplished. The confidence shown by Public Health in delivering it may well be the most charming aspect of their recent work.
Enter new single ‘Heal’, which could arguably be cited as a perfect example of this type of songwriting, building onto the foundations laid out by recent companion release ‘Pain Girl’. Technically speaking, no part of this track is truly innovative in the strictest sense of the term: even upon first listen, lovers of classic rock will recognise all of its building blocks – the mellow, locally maudlin vocals; the slight roughness on the guitars; the chords, which could have come out of one of the more ballad-y works of the early Rolling Stones or from an Eric Clapton solo track. Most of all, they will recognise the combination of tempo, chords, and mood that was originally borrowed by classic rock from blues, and which contributed so much in making many early rock songs – including several true classics – so deeply soulful. ‘Heal’ could very well be a song of the 70s, or perhaps even of the late 60s, precisely due to its use of these familiar touches. The vocals, in particular, have something of the gentle-but-sharp mannerisms of early Bob Dylan, which have been resurfacing here and there in the work of contemporary musicians, especially the ones most influenced by the country and the blues, of late; here, however, the similarity is subtle and unintrusive, just enough to leave that lingering sense of familiarity without coming across as a carbon copy of an original that is clearly more inspiration than direct reference.
It is not at all easy to work with simple structures and few poignant elements, and it is even harder to work with elements that have been used by the classics and the greats. This is the different type of challenge ‘Heal’ tackles it, and it does so with grace. Perhaps also because the track comes across so honest – starting with the lyrics, which are gentle and touching, but clearly heartfelt – it never feels like pure citation: more so like bumping into an old friend, by chance, in a bar late at night, when closing hour is drawing near and things have slowed down. Contemporary music, even the most innovative and exciting, often neglects that slower pace, leaving it entirely in the hands of copy-paste ballads which never seem to achieve the emotional weight required to make it work. Public Health have figured out the correct path to access that weight: going back to the blues, revisiting the building blocks of music that had such a great impact for a very good reason, and putting those blocks back into a different shape, to make something new out of the old. It is an exercise of subtlety, and an exercise of the heart much more than one of the mind. The end result is a track that has plenty of heart, and that feels as warm and comforting as its title suggests.
Chiara Strazzulla
Image: ‘Pain Girl/Heal’ Official Single Cover
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