James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
Now we’re in the mindset of modern-day fairytales, it is only fair to remark that this music would be more placed in the greatest sci-fi action film ever produced rather than the soundtrack to a Disney film. Drawing upon the both Miller’s background as the lead guitarist in post-hardcore band Poison The Well, and Krauss’s ill-fated career in teen-pop, Treats is a melodic orgy of musical influences. There are many examples of disastrous marriages of disparate genres (electro-country being the obvious example) so what is it that is so special about Sleigh Bells that they are able to take three distinct genres, stick them into a blender and end up with an amazing sound?
By cherry-picking the best aspects of rock, punk, electronica, dance and pop, and mixing them together in perfect amounts, Miller has been able to create the ultimate pop hybrid. Don’t let the raging guitars reminiscent of a rock/metal band fool you into thinking that Treats falls anymore than a yard from pop’s mighty tree for its heart is one of purest pop. This is literally the case with the albums three central tracks (‘Run the Heart’, ‘Rachel’ and ‘Rill Rill’) making the descent to electro-pop, with the exception of ‘Rill Rill’ which has the hallmarks of a Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips track. Pop is still present in other tracks, even those like ‘Straight A’s’ where it is harder to make out, because they all contain a sweet hook and Krauss’s voice, both of which worm their way into your brain. The lyrics themselves at times can be indiscernible but this doesn’t matter much since the vocals just become yet another layer in Miller’s masterful instrumentations and production.
When you compare the pop-friendly central tracks to those more in the albums periphery, such as the M.I.A. style ’A/B Machines’ or the anarchic embrace of opener ‘Tell ‘Em’, this album does sound a tad disjointed but this is why the running order works so perfectly. Treats is therefore not an album to be played on shuffle but rather one to be played as intended so as get the full effect as each track seamlessly leads into each other (even the sublime closer ‘Treats’ perfectly segues back into the opener).
Running little over 30 minutes, Treats is able to not waste a single second and remains consistently interesting and unbelievably catchy. There are few albums that can penetrate your soul to such an extent that each listen makes you actually feel more alive; Sleigh Bells’ debut has this ability.
You must log in to submit a comment.
