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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Treats is a smart, quirky debut that’s as punishing as it is melodic, and wholly satisfying.
Treats can be a slavering, snarling beast of an album, but beneath the bravado is a sweet centre.
Sleigh Bells’ novelty ... lies in a tingling barrage of granular guitar distortion and overdriven, over-compressed girl-pop squall.
Rarely can sheer, brute force from a pair like Miller and Krauss make everything that comes afterward seem so irrelevant.
Greatness comes with time. Treats is loud, it’s fast, and it’s fun. Enjoy it.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
(⭐️): 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🟩
If I showed this to my friends they might think I lost it but I'm driving so I choose the music.
1 | Tell 'Em 2:56 | 80 |
2 | Kids 2:46 | 80 |
3 | Riot Rhythm 2:36 | 83 |
4 | Infinity Guitars 2:31 | 86 |
5 | Run the Heart 2:41 | 77 |
6 | Rachel 2:19 | 66 |
7 | Rill Rill 3:49 | 89 |
8 | Crown On the Ground 3:49 | 82 |
9 | Straight A's 1:31 | 70 |
10 | A/B Machines 3:34 | 80 |
11 | Treats 3:28 | 77 |
#3 | / | DIY |
#4 | / | Prefix |
#4 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
#4 | / | Slant |
#6 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
#6 | / | Paste |
#6 | / | Stereogum |
#7 | / | Complex |
#11 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#11 | / | PopMatters |