Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

I'm really not sure where the time has gone. I mean there's a difference in that I spent time listening to Treats on my bus ride to college whereas now I listen to them on the... bus ride to university, but has it really been 2 years already? It's like the dust from their earsplitting, ground-shattering debut hasn't had time to settle.

Those of you who've yet to embrace this particular New York duo should probably be warned that they come as a bit of an assault. Their debut record in 2010 stormed into just about every critics' favour and placed highly on several 2010 lists, but the biggest impact was their infiltration into popular culture. Gossip Girl, FIFA video games, Skins and a handful of movie trailers have used their tunes, and they've been given expert advice and work from the likes of M.I.A. and Spike Jonze.


So where do the band cross the bridge from breakthrough to mainstays? Well there's no immediate change of sound, that's for certain. Opener 'True Shred Guitar', by name alone, should give some kind of indication that all things loud and shrill remain. Some critics have often halted right there and dismissed their aesthetic as shallow - which is in itself shallow and foolish, because they've a knack for a nice melody in amongst the hubbub. Cheerleading claps, profanities and snares all combine to really hammer home their return and it's a triumphant one. One of the first tracks to leak from this project, 'Born to Lose' posits singer Alexis Krauss in her breathy-sigh vocals that made previous hits Rill Rill and Rachel stand out, but it's the psychedelic tinges to the track that make this stand out.

At times they are in danger of running out of ideas, though. 'Crush' sounds like a half-assed rehash of their other material with some repetitive stomps and shouted background vocals - and later on, 'Demons', in spite of its powerful riffs, falls too quickly into that "sirens and shit" bracket. But it's when they bring in atmospherics that they're most pleasant - 'End of the Line' introduces a nice laidback synth that belongs in the credits of a beloved video game. But it's that chorus that's really gorgeous. Explosions give way to a twee tune too on 'Leader of the Pack' (not the Shangri-Las song), and for a brief moment they pass off as a light-hearted synthpop duo. Lord knows there's enough of those around. First single 'Comeback Kid' though firmly reinstates their niches: proclaiming "show me what you're made of", it's a call-to-arms that mixes Krauss' deceptively sweet voice with a crunk-pop backing.

On 'Road to Hell' the vocals get raspy and repetitive, and it's a little bit flat as a result, but lyrically it's quite intriguing and incomplete. She gets more incoherent in 'You Lost Me', which is disappointing because the tune and energy are a little isolated without something to shout over. After a brief silence, though, they return with 'Never Say Die', and a rich synth welcomes you into some fantastic dream-sequence. "96 Power" is chanted repeatedly before a dizzying guitar solo, and there's (perhaps imagined) dark noises in the background. But soon we're 'D.O.A.' and inundated by easily the most ominous riffs and melodies (and as the final track you could argue it's a bit late for that supposed reign of terror to kick in), as Krauss commands "Wipe the blood off your nose".


There's nothing quite as formidably deafening as Tell 'Em here so you could be forgiven for thinking they've mellowed a bit, but if anything they've spent more time honing their songwriting now that they've made their breakthrough heard. In short: an excellent album. Now where is my ibuprofen stash?

Rating: 8.5/10
Highlights: End of the Line, Born to Lose, True Shred Guitar, Comeback Kid, Never Say Die
Avoid: Crush, Road to Hell

Artwork Watch: DIRTY BLOODY SHOES WOO