January 17, 2012

Sleigh Bells - 'Comeback Kid'

Full of crunchy guitars and demonic thumping beats

So Sleigh Bells made their return at the dog-end of last year as we’d expected them to, opting for the all-guns-blazing, seek-and-destroy approach, unleashing music’s very own hellfire onto unsuspecting civilians with ‘Born To Lose’. The first track out of new album ‘Reign Of Terror’’s traps was a Jonah Hill-heavy riff rampage that belied their insistence in recent interviews that they’re about to offer a more tuneful, song-based and poppy second album.

The comeback kids’ second, ‘Comeback Kid’, on the other hand? Now this is the pop hit they were banging on about. Well, kinda. It’s still stuffed full of crunchy guitars (recorded, apparently, in a massive reverberation room for added effect) and demonic thumping beats, but this time they’re growling and rumbling under and over much sweeter vocals and – dare we say it – a catchier structure. It’s as if someone put The Ting Tings on a rack, stretched them to breaking point, turned them into lurching androids equipped with sonic death rays and let them loose at a Skrillex gig. Or something. Anyway – Alexis’ increased involvement in the songwriting process has seen her add numerous pop devices to her foil Derek’s demented machinations, and the resulting tussle is captivating indeed.

Tim Chester

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