Sleigh Bells First LP Blows my Face off Twice

(This is a good Thing)

Last year the first traces of the face melting, bone shaking noise-pop project that is Sleigh Bells found their way onto the Internet and immediately gained a following. With the digital release of their first full-length: “Treats”, the music world just got a notch louder. After listening to the album, I am fairly certain that the band stole their amps from Spinal Tap; near every song has at least a minute of flinch-inspiring volume that forces the listener to wonder how in God’s name they finished recording without destroying their equipment.


The truly unique aspect of Sleigh Bells’ music however is not their extreme threshold testing, but rather the perfect contrast that is created between Alexis Krauss’ sugary (and for the most part calm) voice and Derek Miller’s violent distortion. The sound certainly bares comparison to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with the female lead vocal reigning supreme as pandemonium ensues
around them.

With opening positions for Yeasayer and Major Lazer helping put their name on the radar of thousands, this band should become one of the more renowned bands for 2010. Though I have yet to experience the duo live, I have read that the floor shakes from start to finish. This, I can only assume, is an accurate depiction. After all, it’s not hard to imagine the opposite-of-tender sounds that make up “Crown on the Ground,” “Straight A’s” and “Kids” scoring points on the Richter scale.

For me, “Treats” leaves every other 2010 album thus far dead in the water. This is a true example of auditory perfection: Chaos and harmony both play their respective parts in making Sleigh Bells’ “Treats” one of the most unique and enjoyable albums I have ever heard.

Upcoming Events: Wolf Parade

The five—and more recently four—man Montreal group Wolf Parade will release their third LP entitled “Expo 86” on June 29th and thus far the tracks that have been pre-released are sounding impressive. After mild disappointment with their second album, it is comforting to hear some remnants of “Apologies to the Queen Mary” shining through. Though the loss of Hadji Bakara will leave a hole in the band’s sound manipulation department, this is not by any means a death sentence for Wolf Parade’s sound. In particular the layering of high, melodic lines on the new “What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had to Go This Way)” is quite evocative of the classic Wolf Parade style that so many listeners crave.


(Wolf Parade - "Expo 86" Album Cover)

It has been almost two years since the band’s “At Mount Zoomer” tour carried them here to unleash blissful chaos on the McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom. Upon entering the show I was not anticipating a particularly lively show—after all Wolf Parade’s studio sound had always seemed oddly tame to me in conjunction with their upbeat style—and so I (foolishly) decided to wear open toe footwear. In hindsight I can safely say that the 2008 show was the most definitive sweat-shower of my life: Over the course of their set I received several bruises, caught countless foreign sweat drops in my eyes and mouth, watched from across the pit as my friend battled with a violent asthma attack, and lost both of my sandals. I am expecting nothing less from this summer’s concert. Wolf Parade will hit the Ballroom on July 27th; get tickets, get sweaty, get out satisfied.