What the CL Music Team is listening to on this fine Monday to rocket launch the work week. Click here to check out previous entries.
Joel – Sleigh Bells, Reign of Terror (2012)
Sleigh Bells' second album retains every bit of Treats’ bombast but with less migraine-inducing noise. Plenty of metal riffage and heavy beats remain, but with more melody and better production, Reign Of Terror is definitely more listenable and a little bit more diverse, too. Derek Miller capably restrains his axe on the mostly tender "End Of The Line" and "Road To Hell" while Alexis Krauss sounds as angelic as ever when she isn't shrieking elsewhere. "Leader Of The Pack" isn't a cover, but under distorted guitar lurks a classic sickly-sweet melody that hearkens back to another era. Sleigh Bells bring plenty of attitude to the party, attempting to redefine the hype track on "True Shred Guitar," but much of the later tracks on the album are mellower by comparison. Reign Of Terror is a great follow-up and shows Sleigh Bells' musical growth, but I'm not sure it will displace Treats as the group’s defining work. Watch the video for "Comeback Kid" after the jump along and see the rest of this week's entries.
This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.