Reign of Terror

Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller came shredding and shouting onto the scene in 2008, with the swagga of Harlem rappers and songs to trash hotel rooms to. But these same songs backed adverts for Windows, Kopparberg and FIFA, and it’s this antithesis of sherbet media-friendly POP! melodies and angry, massive, smash-up-guitars rock which made the duo such an exciting prospect, and 2010’s Treats one of the records of the year. Treats was all about grabbing our attention but now they’ve got it, the duo need to show they’ve got more than one trick up their sleeves. Reign of Terror is certainly a continuation of the macho/girly, heavy/light sound that defines Sleigh Bells, but there’s progression towards an even bigger stadium-rock aesthetic.

Deliciously angry and brutal opener ‘True Shred Guitar’ indicates this intent, featuring a swearing, spitting Krauss whipping up a handclapping crowd. On the excellent ‘Crush’, Krauss turns demonic, cheerleader chanting ‘I gotta crush on/I gotta crush you now!’ surrounded by stomping drums and another handclapping crowd. But there’s nothing self-indulgent or narcissistic about Krauss – her generosity as a songwriter and vocalist is embodied by her performance on ‘Comeback Kid’, where her beautiful airy vocal is purely in service of the song, and her lyrics are a heartfelt pep talk (‘you’ll come back some day’). ‘Demons’ is another highlight, a strongly metal-influenced song with Krauss singing ‘you’ll be taken down brick by brick by brick!’. It’s simultaneously frightening and gorgeous, and you know this is exactly what Sleigh Bells are going for. Everywhere there are guitars: drilling guitars, buzzing guitars, reverb-laden beast-like guitars. Miller said of this record: “The beats are still important to me, but the guitar won.” With guitars this powerful, they always were going to win.

What lost out though – the hip-hop beats and samples – are sorely missed. There’s nothing as immediate and danceable as ‘Rill Rill’, and Reign of Terror makes clear that Sleigh Bells are no longer a party band. They’re just not all that fun, and fun- big, loud, dancey fun- is exactly what you want from Sleigh Bells.

**MP3:** ‘Comeback Kid’
**Similar to:** St Vincent, Cults, Tennis