They may not be Christmas bells but I always have an exciting time when I listen to this band and their songs are always full of surprises.
The duo from Brooklyn released their debut album ‘Treats’ in May last year and have been gradually building their presence. Arguably their craziest song, 'Infinity Guitars', was used for the British trailer to the third series of 90210 which began in January 2011, perfectly accompanying the over exaggerated drama, scandals and tragedies of the Beverly Hills hotties!
This song has become the soundtrack my life at the moment, not that my life is, or will ever be as dramatic or glamorous as the 90210ion’s. I never wore a Gucci dress to high school nor will my hair ever possess the ability to curl perfectly like Naomi’s. I can dream. Yet, this song is so powerful and slick, it can make anyone feel cool.
The guitar and the strong drums are the backbone through the whole album; they are the two constants that hold our hands through this roller coaster of sound. But the sound is what make the Sleigh Bells so different and exciting. There are no more instruments, just a mixing bowl of sounds that shouldn’t work well together and are not musically correct. A screech, a saw and something that sounds like a game show buzzer. But somehow the duo put these sounds together to create enough melody for it to work.
The more lively tracks, 'Crown on the Ground' and 'Infinity Guitars', are bombarded with sounds that are deliberately distorted as if all the discordant sounds have strained and broken the speakers. This is something that some may hate about the music, but it is something that I have come to treasure about the Sleigh Bells when I stomp around my room to the irregular, untimely beats
Other less straining songs, like 'Rachel' contains only the slow electronic rhythms under AlexisKrauss's layered and choir-like voice add some breathing space to the album around the other monster tracks.
As I blog I am listening to the album on Spotify, and by doing this I have found a song that is not on the album but on the EP 'Tell Em.' Very exciting. The speakers where dutifully turned up for 'Holly' which rules on distortion, warping of Krauss's voice and guitar and had me checking that the logitechs had not liquefied.