Sleigh Bells | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Combining sugary hooks with a loud, rhythmic crunch, Sleigh Bells experimental pop is the project of songwriter/producer Derek Miller and vocalist Alexis Krauss. The musicians formed the group in New York in 2008, where Miller (a Florida native and onetime member of hardcore act Poison the Well) had relocated in the hopes of starting a new group. He found his ideal partner in Krauss, a former vocalist for the teenaged girl group Rubyblue, and the two began creating a batch of demos. The duo signed to M.I.A.s boutique label N.E.E.T. and released its debut album, Treats, to critical acclaim in 2010. The band spent much of 2011 touring but found time to record, with Miller writing songs inspired by personal tragedy and playing a particularly metallic-sounding Jackson USA Soloist. The results, Reign of Terror, were released early in 2012 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200. During another year of heavy touring, the duo found time to lay down tracks for its third record, Bitter Rivals, which arrived in October 2013. After two years of relative quiet, Sleigh Bells returned in 2015 with "Champions of Unrestricted Beauty," a teaser for their fourth album that displayed a more straightforward pop sound than some of their previous music. In 2016, the duo sued Demi Lovato, her producers, and UMG Recordings for allegedly sampling the Treats songs "Infinity Guitars" and "Riot Rhythm" without permission on the 2015 track "Stars." That November saw the release of their fourth album, Jessica Rabbit, which featured collaborations with Dr. Dre producer Mike Elizondo. Sleigh Bells returned a year later with the mini-album Kid Kruschev, which was sparked by Krauss move to upstate New York as well as the turbulent political climate of the late 2010s. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Treats Released: 2010-05-11 Tracks: 11 Duration: 32:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Tell ’Em (02:56) 2 Kids (02:46) 3 Riot Rhythm (02:37) 4 Infinity Guitars (02:32) 5 Run the Heart (02:41) 6 Rachel (02:19) 7 Rill Rill (03:50) 8 Crown on the Ground (03:49) 9 Straight A’s (01:32) 10 A/B Machines (03:35) 11 Treats (03:29) |
| Treats : Allmusic album Review : One of 2010’s most attention-getting debuts, Sleigh Bells Treats comes on strong. Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss craft a sound that’s all climax, that sounds like cheap stereos turned up to 11 and boom cars that might actually explode. Nearly all the parts of all the songs on Treats are saturated with distortion that makes them feel even louder than they actually are (which is pretty loud to begin with). Yet their approach is far from lo-fi, and it’s worlds apart from the kind of noise pop that looks back to the halcyon days of four-track recording in the ‘90s. Instead, Sleigh Bells claim whatever sounds loud and shiny for their own: their beats can come from electro, rap, or a drumline; Millers guitars often sound like they were stolen from stadium rock; and cheaply sampled sounds that could have come from toy instruments pop up more often than not. On top of all these blaring and blurring sounds is Krauss unaffected, ultra-girly voice, which acts as the frosting on Treats, sweetening it and holding it all together. It’s an approach that’s as powerful as it is unlikely -- her voice could be too saccharine in another setting, and the music could be contrived and too abrasive without her presence. Sleigh Bells have got their formula down and they stick to it throughout Treats, to often stunning effect. Nearly every track here sounds like an event. “Riot Rhythm” is stark and driven by a drumline rhythm; “Crown on the Ground” sounds like a cheerleader chant backed by a sound system; and “A/B Machines,” with its surfy guitars and siren-like synth drills, could be a Chemical Brothers song covered by No Age and what nu-rave should have sounded like. The fondness and flair Sleigh Bells show for recontextualizing and reconfiguring on songs like this and “Straight A’s,” which throws some metal guitar into the mix, make it easy to hear why M.I.A. signed the band to her label (and “Rill Rill,” which samples Funkadelic’s “Can You Get to That,” echoes her own surprise hit “Paper Planes”). On quieter songs like “Rachel” and the soulful “Run the Heart,” Miller and Krauss switch up their approach a bit, allowing her vocals to be the focus of the songs rather than a decoration. Given that Sleigh Bells sound is so big -- and undeniably exciting -- songwriting falls lower on the band’s list of priorities than taking all the dramatic moments from everyone’s favorite songs and turning them into songs in their own right. That doesn’t stop Treats from having a boldness, immediacy, and sense of fun that’s missing from too much other music. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: Reign of Terror Released: 2012-02-20 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 True Shred Guitar (02:20) 2 Born to Lose (03:53) 3 Crush (03:19) 4 End of the Line (03:38) 5 Leader of the Pack (02:43) 6 Comeback Kid (03:00) 7 Demons (03:03) 8 Road to Hell (03:21) 9 You Lost Me (04:30) 10 Never Say Die (03:40) 11 D.O.A. (02:57) |
| Reign of Terror : Allmusic album Review : "Push it push it push it!" Alexis Krauss shouts at the beginning of Reign of Terror, and thats exactly what she and Derek Miller do on their follow-up to Treats. Despite its in-the-red volume, Sleigh Bells debut was a fragile, almost alchemical blend of wispy melodies and crushingly heavy beats and riffs. How could they top an album that was already turned up to 11? By turning things up to 12: on Reign of Terror, the duo brings the nods to metal that added a headbanging thrust to Treats to center stage. From the albums name down to song titles like "D.O.A." and "Never Say Die," Krauss and Miller allude to metals flirtations with death, which makes a strange kind of sense: Treats was a blend of sounds that shouldnt have worked but did, and changing that formula is riskier still. Oddly, though, the duo sound more gimmicky with a narrower focus than they did when they were tossing drumline beats and P-Funk samples into the mix. With Miller playing a shred and squeal-friendly Jackson USA Soloist and a slicker production, Reign of Terror has a chilly, harsh edge that makes Sleigh Bells debut sound downright quaint by comparison. Despite the albums hyper-saturated sound, everything feels more polarized; Krauss vocals are often more sugary than ever, and next to Millers guitar heroics, it often feels like a hesher giving his chops a workout while someone blasts teen pop next door. The duos alchemy resurfaces on the songs that sound the most like Treats: on "Crush," Krauss sounds like a revolutionary cheerleader toying with a captive enemy when she sings "Ive gotta crush you now"; "End of the Line" echoes the Treats hit "Rill Rill"s breathy pop poses; "Leader of the Pack" boasts a tooth-rottingly sweet melody, and "Comeback Kid" balances the albums heaviness with humor and finesse. However, when the band goes deeper into metal territory, they arent always as successful: The aptly fiery "Demons" sounds extra-vengeful with strutting fretwork and rapid-fire kickdrums, but "Born to Lose" and "Road to Hell" just get weighed down with heavy riffs. Indeed, Reign of Terror falls off precipitously when the guitars overtake everything else, as on the albums meandering last three songs. Miller and Krauss deserve credit for branching out and taking risks, but as the album veers back and forth between inspired and irritating, and as they scramble to fill every nook and cranny with some type of sound, Reign of Terror ends up being a fatiguing reminder of how remarkable a feat Treats was. Sleigh Bells may have topped themselves here, but its a case of more being less. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: Bitter Rivals Released: 2013-10-08 Tracks: 10 Duration: 29:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Bitter Rivals (03:19) 2 Sugarcane (02:47) 3 Minnie (03:01) 4 Sing Like a Wire (02:35) 5 Young Legends (02:50) 6 Tiger Kit (02:55) 7 You Dont Get Me Twice (02:43) 8 To Hell With You (03:09) 9 24 (02:58) 10 Love Sick (03:09) |
| Bitter Rivals : Allmusic album Review : Over the course of the three albums Sleigh Bells cranked out between 2010 and 2013, the pop and noise elements in their music didnt always play nicely together; 2012s Reign of Terror had almost as many frustrating moments as inspired ones. Album titles like that one and Bitter Rivals hint at the inherent tension in the duos sound, but Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss take a more holistic approach to blending and balancing with these songs. For such a flamboyantly loud band, the tweaks they make are surprisingly subtle: Bitter Rivals mix of Sunset Strip riffs, teeny bopper vocals, and crashing beats isnt as punishingly dense as it was on Reign of Terror, and its heavy and sweet sides work together instead of competing for attention. Songs like "Sugarcane" and "Young Legends" allow the melodies -- and Krauss voice in particular -- to take center stage and act as the glue for louder and wilder parts. Meanwhile, "Love Sick"s slow, dreamy chorus evokes Treats prettier moments, and the sweet love song "To Hell with You" shows that Sleigh Bells still have the ability to surprise. Of course, the duo still crosses the fine line between bold and bratty as hard and as often as their sound goes into the red: "Minnie"s acidly sweet chorus ("Go count your pennies/Im sorry to say you dont have any") sounds like a catty nursery rhyme and stings like a mean girls burn book. Bitter Rivals was written and recorded quickly, and sometimes feels a little underdone -- there isnt much to the title track except its admittedly catchy refrain, for example. Still, the albums shorter, lighter approach suits Krauss and Miller, and its best moments allow them to find more levels of expression in a sound that could easily wear out its welcome. Sleigh Bells studies in contrasts arent shocking anymore, but the fact that they sound more natural on Bitter Rivals makes this some of their most enjoyable music since Treats. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: Jessica Rabbit Released: 2016-11-11 Tracks: 14 Duration: 42:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 It’s Just Us Now (03:09) 2 Torn Clean (01:21) 3 Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold (03:17) 4 I Can’t Stand You Anymore (04:01) 5 Crucible (03:01) 6 Loyal For (01:58) 7 I Can Only Stare (03:33) 8 Throw Me Down the Stairs (02:42) 9 Unlimited Dark Paths (03:14) 10 I Know Not to Count on You (02:19) 11 Rule Number One (04:04) 12 Baptism by Fire (04:23) 13 Hyper Dark (03:13) 14 As If (02:43) |
| Jessica Rabbit : Allmusic album Review : For Sleigh Bells, the blurring boundaries between pops mainstream and underground were a blessing and a curse. Though they cranked out three albums of subversive sweetness and noise in as many years, Top 40 pop caught up with them almost as quickly: Demi Lovatos 2015 album Confident featured a song that sounded similar enough to their work that they sued for copyright infringement. More importantly, by the time they released Bitter Rivals, it felt like Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss had exhausted their musics extremes. During the years between that album and Jessica Rabbit -- a gap as long as the time it took to make all their other albums -- the duo recalibrated, borrowing some of the gloss from the mainstream pop so fond of Krauss and Millers rough edges. The duo began splicing the opposite sides of their sound on Bitter Rivals, and they continue the trend even more creatively on their fourth full-length: instead of just tweaking their dynamics, they play fast and loose with the most conventional and experimental parts of their music. Sometimes the results are outlandish, even by Miller and Krauss standards: "Throw Me Down the Stairs," which combines 80s metal riffs with ambient passages, is one of their wildest pastiches yet. Other times, theyre almost straightforward; "Baptism by Fire" delivers sparkly pop that makes the most of Krauss vocals. More than ever, her voice is the anchor for Sleigh Bells stylistic swings. "Im loyal -- for now," she sings at one point on Jessica Rabbit, capturing the moment-to-moment existence within their songs. It also feels like theres more purpose, and righteous anger, anchoring their experiments. Authenticity is a major theme, with Krauss crooning "the real thing" over guitar outbursts on "Its Just Us Now" and comparing blood to plastic on "Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold." Though the duo excel at putting their contents under pressure on songs like "Crucible" and "Rule Number One," where the riffs ripple like shockwaves, Sleigh Bells also allow listeners a few more breathers. The "uh oh"s that punctuate "Hyper Dark"s shattered balladry hint at Jessica Rabbits state of emergency, while "Torn Clean" is one of the bands prettiest songs yet. Contrasts like these have been Sleigh Bells modus operandi since the beginning, but Jessica Rabbits mix of brashness and finesse proves they can still thrill. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: Kid Kruschev Released: 2017-11-10 Tracks: 7 Duration: 21:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Blue Trash Mattress Fire (04:02) 2 Favorite Transgressions (02:27) 3 Rainmaker (03:50) 4 Panic Drills (03:08) 5 Show Me the Door (03:03) 6 Florida Thunderstorm (02:30) 7 And Saints (02:49) |