Sleigh Bells' debut album Treats will go down as one of the most
unique noise albums since the early 00s. Derek Miller's idea of becoming a Brooklyn
version of a Gold Star Studios session musician came true when he found the
perfect backbench vocalist in Alexis Krauss. This conceptual 'noise pop' genre
had been left alone for many years, or at least held back by emerging genres in
the punk genre. Dance-punk dominated the scene noise pop once thrived in. The
previous slayers Yo La Tengo, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and Sonic Youth, have
been pushed aside for what is essentially an indie experiment. Wavves, No Age,
Best Coast, and Yuck have all released very successful noise pop albums in the
post-DFA years. Sleigh Bells capitalised on that success and in the same year
as Best Coast's gritty Californian debut Crazy For You, Sleigh Bells
released Treats. Spoilt by an overbearing emphasis on too little = too
much, Sleigh Bell's debut album received little to no attention a few months
after its release. At the time of the first few listens, Treats was an album of
the year contender. It took five, nine listens to realise the lack of depth in
their sound and lyrics. Treats acts as a powerful modern noise pop album with
focus on distorted guitars and distorted beats, it just never took off as an
album that’s both imaginative and can withstand age.
Sleigh Bells' second effort Reign of Terror lost the pop - it lost the
plot. The only attractive aspect of Sleigh Bells was wiped clean by Krauss'
demand for a chorus. They took out the thriving experimental-esque guitar
progressions for simple structures and repetitiveness that was hidden easily
with poignant instrumentation on their debut. Tracks like "Born To Lose" highlighted their changed direction. They eased off on the gas and
broke down. The same instrumentals were being used over and over again without
any specific change or effect. It was a one track album, and that track
happened to be one of their worst to date - "Comeback Kid". The noise
level was still present, but it wasn't desired noise. Treats was on Christmas
lists because of the beats on "Kids", the sample on "Rill Rill", and the clear guitar shredding on "Infinity Guitar". Reign
of Terror didn’t have this. It took away Sleigh Bells dignity as a small
duo trying to make as much noise as possible with what little production
quality they have. Instead, Reign of Terror followed in the footsteps of
a metal head fan - wanting big sounds that you would find in big stadiums, with
70s hard rock guitar effects and reverb ambience to signal this 'stadium rock'
sound. Reign of Terror was an atrocious album that brought back memories
of the unique debuts that can't follow-up because of a niche: Glasvegas' Euphoric
/// Heartbreak \\\, Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better, The
Go! Team's Proof of Youth, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud
Thunder.
The novelty was already wearing off, and Sleigh Bells knew it. Reign of
Terror received mainly positive reviews (not from us.) Though the few
negative nellys (us and the most respected music critics at The Guardian and
The Quietus) focussed on Sleigh Bells inability to create clear instrumentals
and allow listeners to freely enter their music without instantly regarding it
as 'hipster shit'. Sleigh Bells are out to clear their name, as if they're
wrongfully convicted criminals. Bitter Rivals arrives just as
the Reign of Terror backlash is being forgotten. It's only been a year,
and Sleigh Bells are putting out new material to keep their name at the tip of
everyone's tongue and increase their stature as recording artists rather than a
one-off. Being careful in present time, not to drop down into poor third album territory.
Sleigh Bells aren’t treating Bitter Rivals as a third instalment; they're using
it as a fresh start, a way of cleansing their past. They're using experience of
the industry and the Treats to Reign of Terror crossover as a learning
curve. With Reign of Terror failing to live up to Treats' expectation;
it allows Bitter Rivals room to breathe. Tracks on Reign of Terror
sounded far too produced. There are hand claps in areas where every single fan
would expect them to be. They came across as predictable musicians playing
noise rock and punk to a fraction of their Treats audience. Leaving
their creative output to sound crushed, suffocating in guitar effects and noise
that didn't need to be. Part of the pull factor of Treats is the space in-between
the loudness. "Infinity Guitars" is a perfect example of this. With Bitter
Rivals, Sleigh Bells have looked back to their debut album, and to
the more structure focussed sophomore and decided to combine both. The
self-titled opening track is akin to "Infinity Guitars", with its
powerful loud electric guitar, but with a chorus of quiet vocals and a soft
beat. It becomes something of a noise pop Mogwai with a gripping loud / quiet /
loud structure.
Sleigh Bells have been working on their structures and pop crossover sounds.
The chorus splits up fans, taking out the singular loud progressions and little
care for sound quality, focusing in on lo-fi, but Bitter Rivals is a stripped
back Treats, with the advanced musical development of Reign of
Terror. The fifth track "Young Legends" is the most
radio-friendly of all Sleigh Bells tracks to date. It uses a 90s euro dance
synthesizer riff with a light electronic beat and ambience to push Krauss'
vocal. Sleigh Bells actually sound like 90s pop, in the light of Spice Girls on
"Young Legends". It's actually quite attractive and opens up a whole
new area of music to explore. Because it sounds extremely poppy and takes simple
chord progressions, Sleigh Bells actually sound listenable, from an outsider’s perspective.
There's no block of noise, just pure pop with Krauss delivering her best vocal
to date. Taking out the distorted effects, and her own high pitch voice has
created a singular version of S Club 7 - and Sleigh Bells are owning it.
"Young Legends" is not just an irregular track, there’s more along
the pop lines. "To Hell With You" has been drafted from Sleigh Bells
debut EP, where it was titled "2HELLWU". It was one of the only
tracks on the EP not to be recorded for Treats. Possibly Sleigh Bells
waited to develop the track in to album material, which they have done for
Bitter Rivals. Its big sounding beat never loses the small time structure
or percussion accompaniment, as Reign of Terror would have done. My only
criticism to these tracks is the criticism Sleigh Bells face daily with their
music - it sounds aimless. "24" is a track that's over before any key
aspect can be processed. In less than three minutes, "24" rips
through guitar riffs, the old school Treats deep beat and Krauss' synthetic
vocal found on these newer recordings on Bitter Rivals. There's
something too orchestrated and irrelevant that gets in the way of enjoying this
track.
Where Sleigh Bells increase the volume and put together their authentic
features, is where Sleigh Bells inevitably fall down. "Sugarcane" is
a three minute track, where each and every part of the track is similar.
There's no variety or break, smothering Krauss' vocal and the background synthesizer
ambience that you just want to come out of the darkness and break through all
the noisy blandness. Bitter Rivals attempt at melodies and standard pop
structures fails on so many levels. This album comes across as a try out rather
than the real deal. "Minnie" is the weakest track on the album
because of Krauss' pointless high pitched vocal and repellent chorus. It takes
the same loud / quiet / loud post-rock progression as the opening track, but
with the reverb found on Reign of Terror and a vocal segment found on
Aqua's "Barbie Girl". The weak points on Bitter Rivals
outweigh the few standout tracks. "Sing Like A Wire" sounds more like
a demo than a track for your third album - there’s just too much focus on
Krauss, when all the listeners really need here is further instruments instead
of whispered vocals.
Bitter Rivals is somewhere between Treats and Reign of
Terror. Sleigh Bells' third album is no better than the grandiose shocking
sounds of their sophomore album, but in no way reaching the level of their
debut Treats. With Bitter Rivals, Sleigh Bells are showing their
listeners, their critics; that the whole concept of Sleigh Bells is varied and
not self-focussed on the creative work of Miller, nor Krauss. It has the Miller
chaos and madness found on "Sugarcane", and the Krauss' influence on
"Tiger Kit", "Young Legends", and the album closer
"Love Stick". Having this variety on Bitter Rivals really makes this
album worth the listen. "Young Legends" is the best piece of work the
duo have collaborated on, an outstanding single which will find itself on film
trailers in years to come. Other than this particular track, Bitter Rivals
still sounds like its lost in music’s no man's land. It's as if Sleigh Bells
are failing to understand what they actually want to be - a noise pop duo, a
dance-punk band, hard rock, punk rock... The possibilities are endless and they
get that across through their music, it's just something that needs to be given
purpose by a stark classification rather than confusion and continuing to
change focus. This is backed up by the bands quick turnover since 2012s Reign
of Terror - Bitter Rivals has less tracks, less time, and less
decisiveness. It's the rightful follow-up to Treats, and I'll continue
to forget and erase Reign of Terror from my mind, as that album should
never have been. Bitter Rivals is an improvement, but alienates
listeners from Treats, and new fans from Reign of Terror. Sleigh
Bells will always be held back by the initial strength of their debut album,
with Bitter Rivals being no different than Reign of Terror as an
unfortunate follow-up comparison rather than a standalone album.
~Eddie
~Eddie
4.5
