Sleigh Bells – Treats (Columbia)
4/5
By: Adam Hartley
Considering the weight of the sound of this record, the fact that it’s created by only two people is almost baffling. The guitars are heavy, the beats are heavier – reminiscent of the sounds one used to create using the DJ setting on the keyboards your school provided in music class, only brutal. Amidst the entire clamour, it comes as a genuine shock when you’re finally treated to Alexis Krauss’s vocals, only to find them to be amongst the sweetest in the world.
It takes a while to get used to, but once you’re in, Sleigh Bells really are an incredible sound. In fact, after a few listens, you wouldn’t describe it as heavy at all. Such a prediction might come as a shock if you’re listening to Treats for the first time, however, bear with it and it’ll reveal its subtleties. The contrast between the cacophonous music and the cleanness of Krauss’ voice creates a curious phenomenon whereby they seem to even each other out, leading to some moments that could even be described as serene.
Highlights are plenty, but I’ll single out ‘Rill Rill’ as the least confrontational and most beautiful of the collection, and ‘Tell ‘Em’ as their finest, most generally fantastic pop song. Lyrically Krauss is both playful and intriguing, ‘A/B Machines’ mantra of “got my A machines on the table, got my B machines in the draw” meaning precisely sod all to me, but hey, the world’s a better place for ‘I Am The Walrus’.
In Treats Sleigh Bells have achieved a very rewarding balance between catchiness and offering something that counts as a definite alternative to the mainstream. Whether it’s enough to make them household names remains to be seen, and is perhaps besides the point – it might sound bigger than all hell, but boy does this stuff work a treat in tiny, sweaty rooms.
Sleigh Bells - "Rill Rill" (from Treats)
Artists in this article: Sleigh Bells
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