// Sleigh Bells //
// Treats //
4 out of 5
Buzzed about for months since their demo tracks surfaced in the fall of 2009, the Brooklyn-based noise pop duo known as Sleigh Bells has finally arrived. As someone who has generally shied away from anything labelled as noise, I must admit that I'm still trying to stomach what Sleigh Bells offers with their debut, Treats. On its most simple level, Treats offers a relatively poppy take on noise. The hard-hitting electric guitar riffs and bass thumps are sure to melt your brain, but on other hand, singer Alexis Krauss' airy vocals do well to keep things from being an all-out riot.
If I were to describe Treats in one word: filthy. This thing is raw and unapologetic. When first listening to Treats, one of two things will happen: 1) you'll be inclined to drag the album to the recycling bin and start looking for a better quality rip; or 2) you'll try playing something else to make sure your speakers aren't blown. Don't waste your time: like it or not, this is the way it is. Your loss-less FLAC copy is just as rife with clipping as any crappy streamed version out there. It's hard to get over the nagging feeling that playing these songs is somehow wrecking your speakers. But look, Treats wasn't built for dinky little 0.5-watt computer speakers; it was meant for 20-foot-tall speaker towers blasting you into the back wall of the Commodore. It may not help you in terms of buying what they're selling, but it makes sense to me. Having gotten over that, I was able to really get in with the vibe.
This is as gentle an introduction to the Noise genre as you'll find. Without a little bit of perspective, what Sleigh Bells have delivered can easily be written off as audibly-offensive junk. Given a chance, it becomes clear that this is so much more than an assault on the eardrums. There are real rock, pop, and hip-hop sensibilities co-mingling here. Take "Kids" for example: I hope I'm not the only one who can hear DMX's "Party Up" being used as the foundation for the hook. Elsewhere, Krauss' rhythm and monotonous vocal style subtly mimic the stuttery chorus on Three 6 Mafia's "Stay Fly." This is smartly designed music on the bleeding edge between party anthems and fight club soundtrack. After a long day at work, I turned this on as I pulled out of the office parkade in full-on zombie mode. By the time I got home, I had my best Rampage snarl on and my palms hurt from spazzing out on the steering wheel.
Each of the songs are short-ish, which works out quite well. If any of these monoliths were 4 or 5-minutes long, I think I would've died of cardiac arrest upon first listen. Instead, they give you a series of quickie adrenaline shots, each as sonically devastating as the last. The only come-down afforded to the listener is "Rill Rill," which is kind of folky but still moves at a steady head-bobbing pace with finger snaps and a killer drum fill. Other early favourites include "Tell Em", "Kids", and "Riot Rhythm". All in all, the 11-track album is an appropriate length. Anything more just might be too overwhelming.
Summary: this is the musical equivalent of looking directly at the sun. Your eardrums will be numb after the first few times, and you might even get a headache. Your brain will be working overtime trying to figure out why you're blasting it with all that clipping. As a concept, the album is very challenging but still so close to being a perfect '5'. The only thing stopping me from really loving it is the longing to hear it with a little more polish. Despite this, there's something about the way that Treats slinks its way into your favourites list. It violates all that I know about the value of sound engineering, but the slow burn of it is undeniable. Before you know it, the little spark that the album represented will turn into 32 minutes of napalm. Turn it on, turn it up, and just try - TRY - to sit still. Sleigh Bells' Treats will make you lose your shit. Early candidate for album of the year, for it's brazen and infectious delivery.
bt: http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/5604711/Sleigh_Bells_-_Treats_%5B2010%5D_%5B320kbps%5D_%5BAlbum%5D.5604711.TPB.torrent
ms: http://www.myspace.com/sleighbellsmusic
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