Upon impact Sleigh Bells’ sound is jaw-droppingly fresh. Yet these noise-poppers are the culmination of whatever continuum encompasses Go! Team, Discovery, Gang Gang Dance, umpteen chillwave bands, Dirty Projectors and any other abstruse art-rockers currently speed-dating contemporary pop and R‘n’B. Sleigh Bells’ novelty though, lies in a tingling barrage of granular guitar distortion and overdriven, over-compressed girl-pop squall.
Imagine ‘Alice Practice’ eleven times in a row – even ‘Treats’’ thirty-minute run-time can be as fatiguing as it is exhilarating. The odd ballad wouldn’t hurt, right? Still, it’s a sure sign that the kissing-couple, indie-rock and R‘n’B, appear to be going steady.
8/10
Words by Charlie Frame
