"True Shred Guitar," the first track of "Reign of Terror," begins with guitar noises and a wild, cheering crowd.
For me, this sums up Sleigh Bells. They are, to quote Pitchfork's William Bowers, Now as Fuck. To quote him again, "...this act was Now As Fuck, but maybe riskily so, since now-ness, you know, frrrts so quickly into then-ness."
Frrt.
I like throwing myself around the dance floor* to Sleigh Bells. I like that they are simultaneously distorted and clear, hard but light. Driving to them in the summertime is delicious. "Crown on the Ground" was my jam for a while; same with "Tell Em." Cotton candy. And as far as their musical and technical skills, I applaud them. But they're a definite product of the Now as Fuck hipster generation. Lyrical substance? No. Humility? No. An ebb and flow in the album? Not so much.
Here's what I like in an EP or LP: I want to have a break now and again from hopped-up overdriven stuff. Back off a litte, give me something gentle. "Road to Hell" approaches this, and so does "You Lost Me," but by the time we get to that, we're eight tracks in. And, the songs themselves are pretty much the same the whole time.
Listening to "Reign of Terror" all the way through without stopping sort of makes my head hurts. There aren't any slow places to be, and after awhile, it all starts to sound the same. Like a big wad of fuzzy guitar and cymbal crashes. There's no flow. When I took piano lessons, I learned the importance of dynamics - hey, Sleigh Bells! You should work on that!
An album isn't supposed to be an amalgamation of big, loud songs without any connection. All the tracks are supposed to work together to create an experience, and I think that Sleigh Bells lacks that, which is why I think they're Now as Fuck and not classic, enduring, or moving. In a few years, I won't be listening to them - but for Now, I'll dance to "Comeback Kid."
*my living room.
Here's what I like in an EP or LP: I want to have a break now and again from hopped-up overdriven stuff. Back off a litte, give me something gentle. "Road to Hell" approaches this, and so does "You Lost Me," but by the time we get to that, we're eight tracks in. And, the songs themselves are pretty much the same the whole time.
Listening to "Reign of Terror" all the way through without stopping sort of makes my head hurts. There aren't any slow places to be, and after awhile, it all starts to sound the same. Like a big wad of fuzzy guitar and cymbal crashes. There's no flow. When I took piano lessons, I learned the importance of dynamics - hey, Sleigh Bells! You should work on that!
An album isn't supposed to be an amalgamation of big, loud songs without any connection. All the tracks are supposed to work together to create an experience, and I think that Sleigh Bells lacks that, which is why I think they're Now as Fuck and not classic, enduring, or moving. In a few years, I won't be listening to them - but for Now, I'll dance to "Comeback Kid."
*my living room.
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