Sleigh Bells consists of Derek Miller (formerly the ax man for Poison the Well) and Alexis Krauss (formerly the singer for a pop group called Rubyblue), and I have been trying for over a week to come up with a good way to describe their sound. Wikipedia is telling me that they are "noise-pop", but I find that term to lack sufficiency in telling anyone a damn thing about what this group sounds like. To me, a more apt description is "being shot in the face with a concentrated wad of awesome". OK, so that didn't actually make anything clearer, but seriously, this album is only 32 minutes and 11 tracks long, but I haven't been able to stop listening to it on account of all the "awesome".
This scenario has nothing on Treats.
I was a big fan of Poison the Well back in high school, and they still have a small place settled out in my tiny black heart as a result. They were always a little more versatile than your average hardcore band, and the arrangements that Miller puts together on Treats take that versatility and crank it up to 11. "Tell 'Em", the first track, begins with something I can most aptly describe as "the sounds of an angry group of space aliens having a large skirmish", between the overwhelming bass kicks, heavy fuzz guitar, and high pitched squeals of all kinds, but it accomplishes all of this without ever getting TOO abrasive. Some pretty tasteful guitar harmonies keep the intro in check waiting for Krauss' vocals to come in. Her breathy yet precise vocals kind of remind me of a combination of Metric with the attitude of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and are a real... well, treat to anyone who enjoys the "stoned girl" vocal aesthetic. But hell, these words hardly do the song justice. Check it out for yourself.
The album continues in a similar fashion to "Tell 'Em", mixing gooch-rumbling levels of bass, punctuated by keyboard spikes or guitar squeals with Krauss' dazed but enchanting vocal style. "Kids" makes some great use of natural harmonic effects (something I always loved in Poison the Well's sound) and "Riot Rhythm" and "Infinity Guitars" probably have some of the best riffing present on this 32 minute gem (especially about 2 minutes in to the latter, where the song gets so heavy that the urge to smash things will come on more suddenly than a surprise case of the clap). "Run the Heart" and "Rachel" take the album down a notch energy-wise, but the drill and bass sound (with some of the fuzziest, heaviest bass I've heard) combined with the trance style keyboard lines provide an environment where Krauss is less overshadowed by Miller's aggressive songwriting. "Rill Rill" follows on the heels of these two tracks and is easily the most distinctive song on the album. It also demonstrates very clearly why Sleigh Bells is on M.I.A.'s record label, N.E.E.T. Recordings. The song sounds eerily like "Paper Planes", with a similar undeniable groove and tendency to get stuck in your head.
The album finishes off with 4 more tracks more in line with the opening tracks of the album, gradually getting their noise back for "Crown on the Ground", "Straight A's", "A-B Machines", and "Treats". Now, I've been doing my share of gushing, but I will say that this album is most likely not for everyone. It is, however, for A LOT of people. If you like having catchy guitar hooks, there is something here for you. Simple yet pretty vocals? got that. Bass that will knock out your neighbors' windows? They most assuredly have that point covered. They even manage to get my own personal itch scratched by filling the quota of "off beat guitar squeals alternating with muted low tones" (I have kind of specific tastes sometimes). If you're a fan of some good Electronic/Garage/Dance/Metal/Who-even-knows-anymore, Treats will be a real pleasure to add to your collection.
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