Sleigh Bells – Treats
(Mom + Pop and N.E.E.T. Records)
Words: Bryant Kitching
I know, I know, it seems like we’ve heard this story about a million times before: new band releases a few good demos, gets hyped into oblivion, puts out debut album only to fall flat on their face. More often than not, when the mushroom cloud settles, the world realizes that these bands simply aren’t very good. Brooklyn band Sleigh Bells have been arguably the most talked about new band of 2010, but hold your horses before you cast them aside as a buzz band gone bust. On their hotly anticipated debut Treats, the brand spanking new group shows that they do in fact have some serious, albeit a tad underdeveloped, chops. There is palpable room for Sleigh Bells to grow and develop, which is more than I could say about similar blog buzz bands. I mean, honestly, does anyone really care what Black Kids’ second album is going to sound like? I didn’t think so. Treats might not be perfect, but it does show real promise for future releases from the duo, who have been together barely a year. Treats not only left me interested to see where the group will go next, but actually craving for more of what I liked. This turned out to be both a strength and a weakness of the album.
If you’re looking for a quiet record to lull you to sleep, I suggest you leave the room immediately. From the first fuzzed out, reverb-heavy notes of Treats’ lead-off track, “Tell ‘Em,” it’s clear that Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller have no sympathy for your ear drums. Somehow through all this speaker-busting noise they manage to craft truly unique and memorable songs. However, playing with noise is an easy way to make a band annoying at best and unlistenable at worst. Sleigh Bells’ tracks are never unlistenable, but on tracks like “Infinity Guitars” and “Straight A’s,” it sounds like volume for the sake of volume. “Crown on the Ground,” on the other hand, rises and falls like a true party anthem. Here the loudness serves a purpose: to pump the hell up whoever is listening. Treats’ lack of noise control produces a less than polished sound and causes me to wonder if it wasn’t a bit rushed. A little more work on tracks like “Riot Rhythm” or “A/B Machines” would possibly have turned them from good to great.
Treats touches on so many different genres: punk, hip-hop, lo-fi, shoegaze, yet it is difficult to pinpoint comparable work by other artists. Lyrically, there isn’t a whole lot going on; turn of a phrase here, clever wordplay there, but on the whole, there the lyrics manifest nothing distinctly profound. The closest comparison might be to M.I.A. at her least political. The record’s centerpiece, “Rill Rill,” (formerly “Ring Ring”) samples an old Funkadelic riff, and it might just be an early contender for track of the year. Here Sleigh Bells inject their fuzzed out punk into this infectiously funky sample and create something that would make the forefathers of funk (and even hip hop for that matter) proud. Tracks like this might even hint at some possible mainstream crossover potential for the group. Sleigh Bells might just be one Apple commercial spot away from hitting it big. Krauss’ airy, feminine yet powerful vocals have been compared to the likes of Debbie Harry, and I suppose this is an apt assessment. However, Treats offers none of Blondie’s glitz and glamour. Instead, it offers kick-ass guitar riffs and snap beats.
Treats was an exceedingly frustrating album. It was maddening to hear such a forgettable track like “Rachel” right next to “Rill Rill.” When Sleigh Bells is good, they’re good; the problem was that there were only track-long glimpses of this greatness in between portions of pure mediocrity. Maybe it’s just me getting tired of a genre, but it doesn’t sound like Sleigh Bells belong in the same category as all of the other lo-fi crap that has come out as of late. With a little work, Sleigh Bells could shake the dust off this genre. Is it possible that Sleigh Bells might disappear into the vast oblivion of the blogosphere? Absolutely. But their debut at least showed that at times they are capable of greatness. Sleigh Bells have hooked my interest for at least one more release. In today’s fast-paced, short-attention- span culture where bands come and go on the Internet within months, maybe that fact alone makes Treats a success.
Browse Timeline
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
