Sleigh Bells - Treats
Critic Score
Based on 38 reviews
2010 Ratings: #23 / 924
Year End Rank: #12
User Score
Based on 673 ratings
2010 Rank: #86
Liked by 91 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Slant Magazine
If it’s Sleigh Bells’s hooks versus your ear drums, I have a feeling the latter’s going to give out first.
100
The Telegraph
Alexis Krauss sings their sexually charged, sample-based anthems with all the breathiness of a young Debbie Harry; the distorted ruckus adds to the excitement.
93
Paste

Treats is just a whole goddamn lot of fun to listen to. It's a supremely raw and visceral pop masterwork, one appropriate to rocking out with headphones on, windows-down bumping on car stereos, four-A.M. warehouse dance parties and countless other summer moments that'll soon have soundtracks courtesy of Sleigh Bells.

91
Entertainment Weekly

It’s as if every element of Sleigh Bells’ genre-swerving sound — primitive guitar fuzz, pastiche beats, sugar-buzz vocals — bypasses the default snark button and burrows directly into jaded listeners’ punch-drunk pleasure centers.

91
A.V. Club

Krauss and Miller immediately reach for the jugular on nearly every track of Treats. The trick could wear thin quickly, but the tracks that previously made the Internet rounds as demos sound just as vital here as they did on first download.

90
Drowned in Sound
Stripping away all of the surrounding noise, it allows Krauss to bring her dizzyingly sweet voice to the fore, showing that Sleigh Bells are not just a one trick pony and that these songs work on more than just the basis that they are great at shaking windows.
90
musicOMH

Weighing in at just 32 minutes, Treats can hardly be accused of outstaying its welcome. In fact, its brevity is its strength – too much aural pummelling could be too much. As it is, as soon as the album finishes, you’ll want to put it on again straight away.

90
PopMatters

While part of Sleigh Bells’ appeal has to do with its bold inventiveness, a lot more of it has to be chalked up to the air of invincibility that comes through in the duo’s bruising, high-impact sound, which elicits a visceral reaction that gets you to really feel its excesses and indulge in them.

90
No Ripcord

Being interesting, unique, fun and damn good is near impossible to pull off. Sleigh Bells has done it on Treats, and goddamn is it good.

90
DIY
Dangerous and downright rebellious, this is what 21st century music should sound like.
87
Pitchfork

The New York duo's debut full-length is a wildly fun noise-pop thrill-ride, delivering on the promise of last year's widely circulated demos.

85
Prefix

The best part of Treats is that it makes you rethink the possibilities of this kind of music. It is possible for a former girl-group member and a former hardcore guitarist to get together to make an album that is more daring and more fun than anything you'll likely hear on Top 40 radio this year.

82
Beats Per Minute

Treats is a smart, quirky debut that’s as punishing as it is melodic, and wholly satisfying.

81
Coke Machine Glow
This stuff is genuinely, earnestly satisfying, in the same way all great pop music is: these songs, simply and purely, sound fucking great.
80
NOW Magazine
It's primal, visceral, addictive stuff – a perfect mix of sweet and evil unlike pretty much everything else out there.
80
Sputnikmusic
Sleigh Bells have crafted something entirely unique and that in itself is commendable, and the fact that they've done it with such a bold sound is all the more praiseworthy (or even surprising).
80
Mojo
Sleigh Bells offer a thrilling ride.
80
Spectrum Culture
It’s an all-out sensory assault of over-driven bombast that subsumes mash-up culture, transcends genre-bend and sets a new standard of loud.
80
Q Magazine
Abrasive and addictive, the duo have together discovered a chemistry that not only excites themselves, but almost anyone else who experiences it.
80
The Guardian

Treats can be a slavering, snarling beast of an album, but beneath the bravado is a sweet centre.

80
Clash

Sleigh Bells’ novelty ... lies in a tingling barrage of granular guitar distortion and overdriven, over-compressed girl-pop squall. 

80
Billboard
Make no mistake: Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells is loud, raucous and unapologetic.
80
Alternative Press

Rarely can sheer, brute force from a pair like Miller and Krauss make everything that comes afterward seem so irrelevant.

80
Consequence of Sound

Greatness comes with time. Treats is loud, it’s fast, and it’s fun. Enjoy it.

80
SPIN
Monumentally caustic but hypothetically a dance band, Sleigh Bells sculpt infectious double-dutch funk from an unlikely acid bath of distorted drum machines and nasal pigfuck guitars.
80
NME
Drawing influence across the board, it’s a work that not so much mixes genres as smashes them into one visceral, jaw-dropping hybrid.
80
AllMusic

Given that Sleigh Bells' sound is so big -- and undeniably exciting -- songwriting falls lower on the band’s list of priorities than taking all the dramatic moments from everyone’s favorite songs and turning them into songs in their own right.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes
Sleigh Bells have latched onto an exciting undercurrent in contemporary pop music and put their own distinctive stamp on it.
70
Rolling Stone

Their debut suggests the White Stripes' White Blood Cells by way of M.I.A.'s Arular, noise that's friendly and cute, primitivism that masks pop smarts and respect for tradition, from New Wave to Sixties rock.

70
Under the Radar

While the lasting power of Treats past the warm weather months may be questionable, the duo is out to make hay while the sun shines with a high octane combination of combustible beats, finger snaps, cheerleader chants, beat machines, giddy screams, and unfiltered sass.

60
Evening Standard
Krauss's cutesy voice gives pop appeal to even the darkest moments, however, and there's plenty here to show that their hearts really lie with the hummable.
40
The Skinny
Sadly, this is Sleigh Bells’ overarching flaw: instead of offering an invigorating blueprint for tomorrow, they’ve rehashed a pale imitation of yesterday.
30
The Needle Drop
I like the noise pop approach, but the vocals seem so contrived and boring. Not only that, but there's not much going on in the beats aside from some simple cuts and pastes.
Eizen123
80

Sleigh Bells, more like Slay Bells.

Noise pop duo Sleigh Bells' debut is a fantastic album, mixing noisy and punky atmosphere with 90's R&B vocals and sometimes going into art pop territory ( with the beautiful Rachel ). Infinity Guitars is one of the hardest songs I've ever heard. What I like less is that Alexis Krauss' vocals can feel a bit repetitive, but that's alright, there's enough boldness going on. You can tell this was really ahead of its time, especially ahead of the whole ... read more

garbeargao
80

Kind of spoiler alert i think soo if you’re up to it listen to this first

The cover art of this album should tell you all you need to know: cheerleader music on crack. By attempting to contrast sing-songy tunes with overwhelming noise and monstrous guitar riffs, Sleigh Bells have found a perfect match.

When I review pop albums, I try to cover the three components I find to be the most important in them: songwriting, lyrics, and production. This album’s melodies, while not overly ... read more

Irissssssssssss
91

What the fuck did I just listen to? Well honestly I would have to say this album kinda sounds like the cover, a bunch of cheerleader chants, but this time they’re super over the top and noisy. They literally just repeat and don’t go anywhere, but they’re fun as shit to listen to. I get the exact same energy from some of KKB’s shit. So if you want a bunch of noisy, entertaining cheerleader chants, then have I got the album for you. More like Slay Bells amiright??? Thanks ... read more

AntonioF789
77

(⭐️): 3/11
🟩: 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 10
🟨: 0
🟥: 0

81🟩⭐️ Rill Rill
80🟩⭐️ Tell 'Em
80🟩⭐️ Kids
80🟩 Treats
79🟩 Roit Rhythm
73🟩 Infinity Guitars
72🟩 Crown On The Ground
71🟩 Run The Heart
71🟩 Rachel
71🟩 A/B Machine
69🟩 Straignt A's

P: 75
A: +2

Nota: 77🟩

NorthBeach
85

If I showed this to my friends they might think I lost it but I'm driving so I choose the music.

86

Grows tiresome quick, but ultimately doesn't overstay it's welcome and offers some very exciting and genre-pushing noise pop

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Track List

1Tell 'Em
2:56
80
2Kids
2:46
80
3Riot Rhythm
2:36
83
4Infinity Guitars
2:31
86
5Run the Heart
2:41
77
6Rachel
2:19
66
7Rill Rill
3:49
89
8Crown On the Ground
3:49
82
9Straight A's
1:31
70
10A/B Machines
3:34
80
11Treats
3:28
77
Total Length: 32 minutes
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