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01.01.70

Sleigh Bells - "Reign of Terror" (Mom + Pop) (rating 7 of 10)

"Born to Lose" and "Comeback Kid" were the first songs leaked from Sleigh Bells' second album "Reign of Terror," but could there be two more misleading titles to describe a band that has experienced nothing short of a stratospheric ascent in terms of acclaim and fame? Instead, Sleigh Bells' career trajectory begs the obvious question of whether they can continue to top themselves in pushing their brash, trashy artistry forward. Besting their debut "Treats" would be a tall task, considering how Sleigh Bells' initial effort was so complete and fully fledged that you'd be hard pressed to think that they had any more room to grow. To put it another way, "Treats" was such an over-the-top experience that it seems impossible for Sleigh Bells' aesthetic to become any more intense and bold than it was the first time around.

With "Reign of Terror," Sleigh Bells seems to have come up with the best answer as to how to proceed, which is to not try to one-up "Treats" either in audaciousness or sheer volume. Although "Reign" sounds like it couldn't have been made by anyone except Sleigh Bells, there's something of a shift from the rockist approach of "Treats" to the pop dimensions that vied for attention on some of that album's best, most inventive tracks. It's telling, then, that the closest thing here to what's on the earlier effort - the opener "True Shred Guitar" - is the most unconvincing and least developed number on "Reign," coming off like a parody of what Sleigh Bells did on "Treats," what with the raucous background crowd noise making Derek Miller's guitar-hero theatrics and Alexis Krauss' bantering chants of "Push it!" and "On your knees" feel canned, even farcical. In the end, though, "True Shred Guitar" is just a false start and an act of misdirection, as the duo moves from being a metal band playing dance music to a more well-rounded noise-pop act that's willing to go with its more melodic impulses.

Source: Bellingham Herald