Sleigh Bells

Worst shit you've ever heard?

It's not really my thing, but I get what they're going for. The kids are allright.

Do I go with the standard "get off my lawn" reply, a dismissive "nice thread you got going here, man", a defensive "you just don't get it" or simple, concise "fml"?

I figured there was some humor intended in the juxtoposition of styles. But I also heard this track before the one you linked, and I have to admit to liking it. Definitely gimmicky, but the over-the-top dynamics are kind of fun in a Psalm 69-era Ministry way.

Didn't really like the one you linked or some of the others that were linked on that video, though. Too much of a loud thing, I guess. I agree the reviews are hugely overstating things, though. It's not like this is a weak enough year in music that we need to be going for novelty over quality.

The dance/rock thing doesn't really work for me, but this definitely isn't deserves-its-own-thread bad.

That I do.

Honestly though, my exposure to them was something along the lines of "hey check this demo, its kinda loud" and thinking "its also kinda good" a few months back. I assume your reaction is more of a "read this glowing review -> wtf is this, why?" than about what the band itself is doing.

I came into this thread hoping it would announce an album is available. I first heard of Sleigh Bells in the Sound Opinion podcast they did on SXWX and I really liked what I heard on their MysSpace.

They're fun. Very shimmery and loud and colorful. And catchy.

I can understand not liking them, but the vitriol evident in your posts Parker is surprising, to be honest.

I don't think they are doing anything other than making loud noisy pop songs. And I like them because when the soundwave ferry reaches Port My Ears, I feel that "I like this" feeling and my leg gets tap-tap-tap.

Perhaps you read something different from me, with the band postulating on the depth of their subversiveness, but I don't get any "oh we think we are so subversive" vibe.

If it weren't for the hype, would Parker's reaction be this extreme? Treats is a great summer-time album. Nothing more, nothing less.

To my surprise, I did kind of enjoy Bromst. I can actually see disliking a full album by Sleigh Bells the same way I disliked Spiderman of the Rings, though, so that's not a bad comparison to make. Although I tend to have an easier time with deliberately unsettling heaviness (i.e., nearly clipping drums and bass) than deliberately unsettling noisiness (i.e. looping Woody Woodpecker for three minutes).

Well, different genre, really. I just think the absurd loudness has the same comic effect (at least, I always took Ministry's loudness as kind of good-humored).

Yeah, I was honestly kind of surprised I liked "Tell 'Em," given the nature of the hype, so I'll admit that it did have some bearing on my reaction - just not the same bearing it had on Parker's.

And I do think it's quite relevant that some of the heavy-hitters are actually delivering in big ways this year. Insecure critics construct new narratives to make themselves seem ahead of the curve. The new Hold Steady album's great, but how many times can you write a favorable Hold Steady review without telling the readers what they already know? So you give that one a a just-decent review for not quite living up to Boys and Girls (or Separation Sunday), and you really talk up Sleigh Bells or ... well, I haven't been keeping up with Pitchfork's Best New Music selections much this year, but you get the drift.

In any case, based on the three tracks I've heard, it's ludicrous to make as big a deal out of Treats as Heaven is Whenever, High Violet, Forgiveness Rock Record, Together, or even Sisterworld, Brutalist Bricks, Have One on Me, Winter of Mixed Drinks, or The Courage of Others. But there's a place for disposable, too.

Fair enough. And as much as I like Treats, as DaveB already pointed out, with a year this strong, the chance of it even making my top 10 is pretty slim.

When I first heard the album in its entirety, I knew right away it would be polarizing.

Bryan Lee O'Malley, aka @radiomaru, aka the author of Scott Pilgrim, described Sleigh Bells thusly on Twitter:

That's about the best summation of the album I've found.

I went back to their MySpace and they seem to have changed the song selection from what they had a month or two ago. What I'd heard reminded me of Atari Teenage Riot. Now, not so much.

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum from Parker. I can't understand a lot of people hating this but I absolutely love it. In fact, I can't stop listening. I'll admit a large part of that is I'm getting in a major summer party mood and I know this disc will get everybody crazy on the dance floor when I throw it on. Crown on the Ground in particular.

I'm thinking the rest of the album must sound rather different than the video that Parker linked, because "dance" is not the first thing that music would impel me to do.

I dunno, it kind of gives me the urge to do a Rite of Spring style primitive sacrificial dance.

At least this band's not as bad as Deerhoof! [/old "Jake is a completely tactless douchebag" reference]

I've heard some rumblings about them but haven't taken the plunge. I'll find a stream of it or something and check it oot tonight so that I can berate Parker mercilessly.

I've only heard "Ring Ring" and I dig it. Did not like either songs linked above by Parker and DaveB, but I don't dig rock music all that much generally.

This song seems to have a mixture of sensibilities from Andrew W.K. and 90's shoegazing. I kind of dig it, but I don't know, it could get tiring after a while.

Listening to the track "Kids" and I kind of loathe it. I hate the straight-16th-subdivision-single-note style rapping. Perhaps Parker just picked their best song to lampoon?

Eh, no biggie. I'm always up for hearing opposing points of view. This place would get really boring if we all agreed with each other.

Your posts did catch me my surprise, only because I thought you'd really dig their sound.

To be honest, the album's already wearing out its welcome. I think it'll be one of those albums I'll want to revisit on occasion, and that's about it.