Noise Pop group Sleigh Bells return with their recognisable but eclectic sound. This new album is absolutely chaotic on the surface, but beneath is an intelligently written pop rock song. Sleigh Bells’ sixth album “Texis” is the sound of the duo letting go of all hang-ups and inhibitions and allowing themselves to embrace making the sort of loud, colourful, genre-melting music only they could make. “We stopped worrying about whether or not we’re in or out of our comfort zone, or if we were being repetitive or formulaic,” says guitarist and composer Derek Miller. “In the past we were pretty obsessed with tearing up the rule book and starting from scratch for every record as a means to do something new or different,” he says. “For “Texis” we didn’t worry about any of that stuff, we just pushed the first domino and hoped that something exciting and inspiring would happen.”
“Aren’t you a little too old for rock and roll?” Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells asks at the end of their latest album opener, “SWEET75.” The answer is undoubtedly “no”—Krauss is only 35, after all—but it’s a fair enough question to ask over a decade after the duo burst onto the scene with their scorching debut “Treats” . On their new record Texis, Krauss and producer/guitarist Derek Miller revive their mile-a-minute noise pop with a carpe diem message that manages not to be trite. “SWEET75” kicks off with an intense Mortal Kombat beat and magical shivers of synth. Listening to it feels like arriving at a party that’s already in full swing, your overeager friend grabbing your hand and dragging you to the sweaty center of the crowd.
The signature chunky Sleigh Bells guitar chugs through, heavy and upbeat. In many ways Texis harkens back to the bombast and sheer euphoria of Treats. Songs can shift from nerve-jangling to sugary within a few moments (“An Acre Lost” and “Tennessee Tips” particularly come to mind). Yet throughout the album, Krauss and Miller make life’s fragility inspirational.
Sleigh Bells’ New Album ‘Texis’ Out Now on Mom+Pop and Lucky Number Music
The Fat Angel Sings 