Introducing... Sleigh Bells

Remember your teachers from school? Horrible bunch of fun police weren't they? Imagine then if you discovered your physics teacher or the head of English spent their evenings moonlighting in a band which sound like Vivian Girls covering the Timbaland back catalogue.

Sleigh Bells are a two piece band from Brooklyn consisting of ex-Poison The Well member Derek Miller and former school teacher/ girl band member Alexis Krauss who met when Derek served Alexis in the restaurant he worked in. Having travelled from LA to New York with the sole purpose of meeting a female vocalist Derek really lucked out with Alexis. However it took some persuading to assure her that the waiter trying to slip her his email with the bill for a meal really did just want to make music and not, y'know... 'music'.

Things have come together now though and after a few false starts (former members of the band left to join Surfer Blood) this twosome sit on a short collection of serrated future pop songs that charm and slash in equal measure. Sleigh Bells are loud, really loud and initially you'll want to turn them off for the sake of your ear drums but patience is a virtue. The yin and the yang of Sleigh Bells truly rest in the tracks 'Crown On The Ground' and 'Ring Ring'.

The former sees Alexis doing her pop thing (Her former band Ruby Blue were the real manufactured deal) over a nasty spit ball of speaker breaking pitched guitars and Caddilac bouncing beats. It plays like Fucked Up week on X Factor or the exact noise your stereo makes before it explodes from over playing the last Rihanna album.

'Ring Ring' on the other hand is a more sedated and sugar coated side to the band showcasing Alexis' sweet vocals and the bands love of highly produced popular R'n'B. Imagine TLC melodies put through a fuzz filter and you're getting near.

Check the band out now on Myspace to hear all their soon to be re-recorded material. The Sleigh Bells surface might grate but the centre is so very sweet.

MP3: Sleigh Bells- 'Crown On The Ground'
MP3: Sleigh Bells- 'Ring Ring'

Introducing... Sleigh Bells