It almost seems silly at this point in history to fault anyone for borrowing from their influences, especially on the subject of music. Each day new songs are born on borrowed couches and in murky basements; these infant songs, given the right tender love and care, become fully fleshed compositions that are henceforth eternally unoriginal if an artist continents and oceans away happens to stumble across the same melody or chord progression. The rapid proliferation of music generates creative hurdles that are a constant source of frustration for hungry musicians; and lest we not forget the notable legal considerations one must make when claiming to have written a new song. Luckily, artists are a savvy lot and are usually able to adapt to new working environments. There has been a resurgence of acts who seek primarily to entertain, or to apply new aesthetics to song structures which, to some, have been dead since the music world finally became comfortable with the synthesizer. Like the physical world in which we live and breathe, we are seeing a musical world that has adapted to a global environment in which most of the monumental, monolithic structures have already been erected, wherein the best one can hope to accomplish is to apply a new theme or to slap a fresh coat of paint onto something which has already been conceived.
On their debut album, Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells bring a crooked and dysfunctional take on the now nearly irrelevant hip hop subgenre ‘crunk,’ adding to the mix a much needed dose of energy and volume that effectively raises the corpse of the forgotten production style and does for it what the White Stripes were doing for classic rock ten years ago. The result, more often than not, sounds like a fully-integrated mix of electro pop and 90s hardcore—an admittedly cheap comparison considering that Krauss was indeed once in teen-pop group Ruby Blue, while guitarist/song-writer Derek E. Miller was a long-time member of post-hardcore outfit Poison the Well.
Loud-and-clear opener “Tell ‘Em” sums the record up perfectly. If you are unable to process the blaring crunk beat paired with the screaming metal guitar leads, then your attitude about the album is unlikely to change. Alexis Krauss’ sugary-sweet vocals sound like they were pulled from another song altogether, but the crowded mix is able to make room for her quite effectively.
“Kids” continues with the beats-and-guitars arrangement established on “Tell ‘Em,” but manages to twist the more obnoxious tendencies of the former into the sublime catchiness of the latter. One of the most rewarding moments of Treats is when “Kids” transitions into the marching “Riot Rhythm.” This track in particular makes the band a very exciting prospect for the future, but even here, the primary issue is that the thought is always of brilliant albums to come. Everything sounds great, but the impression is always that Sleigh Bells are onto something that they will perfect an album or two into their career, the mark of which they have slightly missed on their spirited debut.
“Infinity Guitars” is similarly bursting with energy and an ambiguous mixture of generic influences, if not artistic ones. On “Rill Rill,” Sleigh Bells do finally abscond with an entire song, pilfering for their purposes the rhythm guitar and borrowing the basic vocal melody of Funkadelic’s “Can You Get To that;” their use of the sample lends enough originality to freshen it up for new ears, but never quite succeeding in overthrowing the brilliance of the original for those who have already heard it.
In the light of the Lady Gaga phenomenon, it is great to see up-and-coming bands aiming for the jugular of traditional approaches towards pop music. It is of little surprise that M.I.A. has been something of a benefactor for Sleigh Bells, releasing their “Tell ‘Em” single via her N.E.E.T. label and referring to them as her new favorite band. Like the incomparable Maya Arulpragasam, Sleigh Bells are primarily interested in making dirty, tension-driven pop music that blows the roof off instead of merely raising it. On Treats, Sleigh Bells are hugely successful at delivering a raw and engaging collection of poison pop, but as an up-and-coming duo, they will ultimately leave you pondering what is next to come from this new and inspired young band.
Track List:
1. Tell 'Em
2. Kids
3. Riot Rhythm
4. Infinity Guitars
5. Run the Heart
6. Rachel
7. Rill Rill
8. Crown On the Ground
9. Straight A's
10. A/B Machines
11. Treats
