BY MIKEY MIGO
I dug what I heard of Sleigh Bells in 2010. It was fun stuff and I was glad to see something out of the norm get some attention. The album, “Treats”, was probably one of the best albums of the year. It’s not one I’d listen to every day, but it’s just really different in all the good ways. It’s pop, it’s dance, it’s punk, it’s rock, and other noises coming together. To me Sleigh Bells is “punk pop” with a Euro-trash spin on it. They’re from Brooklyn if you were wondering. It’s crisp and clean, but there is something about Alexis Krauss’s voice and the bounce of the songs that won’t let me call it pure “pop”. That’s the kind of art I really appreciate. Sleigh Bell’s music is so many different things while maintaining a completely unique identity. Sure, as time goes on, they’ll end up being classified as a certain genre. The case may be the genre is built around them though. The video is chillaxed. We have a laid back ride through the middle of nowhere. Then its revealed that the dude is dead with a gash on his head. She tosses him and his guitar out and keeps going. Then we go to her at school. She hangs out there for awhile. Then we go back to the middle of nowhere. The guy crawls towards his guitar! He’s a live! She shows up and all is well. Yay! This video is cool. It looks good and is shot well. It has a story to follow with a loose narrative, but it’s strange enough to sit there and discuss afterwards. Random, roaming, somber, and old-washed out looking videos are among my favorites. There are many videos out there like this, but there’s just enough Sleigh Bells stank on it to make it their own. I just like this kind of videos so I let it slide. There is something special here with potential to be great. It’s Sleigh Bells is the result of the mediation between music fans of many styles. They give us exactly what we’d want, but then shovel us over with an explosion of a million awe-struck children.
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