I was immediatly taken aback while giving Sleigh Bells a listen for the first time. For some reason I expected it to be another cute little indie chick duo, but was I ever surprised to find out about their heavy drums and guitar and pop vocals.
This opposite sounding duo is made up of Derek E. Miller, formerly the guitarist of a hardcore band called Poison The Well, and Alexis cross who was formely the member of a pop group called Rubyblue in her teens. Their roots definetly come out in their new project. The whole thing is like a big juxtaposition, and its great! The beats hit really hard and the vocals stay light and girly. I would almost compare them to a better and more rock Crystal Castles [especially their track "Straight A's"], and maybe other garage rock bands with female vocalist, such as Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls, but really, they're bringing a fresh new sound for the moment
Their debut album Treats came out on the 11th and deifnetly lives up to its name.
Every track is really a treat, but heres a few I absoulutly adore:
Tell 'Em, this is the first song I heard from them, and the first track on the album. Great opener all around, I was blown away! Love every second of it I dont even know if I could describe it, but luckily its available for streaming and download [here].
"Rill Rill" (Or "Ring Ring"?) is another. Really sounds like The Go! Team (which Im a big fan of), one of the lighter and cheerier tracks of the album.
"A/B Machines" is to die. Really hard bass, screeching guitar, and handclaps. Really intense and hard hitting track.
Its hard not to go on, but Ill leave it at that.
Its hard not to go on, but Ill leave it at that.
The whole album is available for listening on their MySpace and available for purchase exclusively through the iTunes Store by M.I.A.'s label, N.E.E.T. Recordings. Be sure to check it out its really worth the listen!
-laura schütte. [more from me here]
