mouthful of diamonds

I’ve been a fan of Sleigh Bells since their very great 2009 EP 2HELLWU. Sleigh Bells truly was music to my ears; melodic female vocals over hard guitar riffs and metal-lite beats. 

I immediately had a major girl crush on lead singer Alexis Krauss; bangs, hoops, and the tattoos I am too poor and too scared to get for myself. And she’s a New Jersey girl! Though it was apparent that guitarist Derek Miller was the mastermind behind Sleigh Bells, after seeing them live, it was amazingly obvious that Alexis wasn’t purely ornamental (she is an incredible performer). 

When I heard their most recent sophomore album Reign of Terror, I hated it. I listened to it on NPR, which made me want to barf. Why, oh why, is Sleigh Bells catering to the 30-something farmer’s market crowd? Oh, right, they want to make monies. I streamed the album once, decided that it would be the perfect soundtrack for an MTV reality show and briefly mourned my lost love. 

I am a baker and have to be wide awake at 5am to do some heavy cookie lifting. One morning I was not at all awake, so put on Sleigh Bells Reign of Terror so I wouldn’t fall asleep in my scones. I don’t know if it was the sleep deprivation or if it was just the second listen, but I truly liked Reign of Terror the second time around, and have been listening to it nonstop. 

I read two really great articles on the band. First, on Pitchfork, a brilliant account of their Florida tour with Diplo and Liturgy, in which the author, William Bowers, aptly deemed the band “now as fuck”. And the second, in Spin, an inside look at the band’s dynamics and the obviously complications of Alexis and Derek’s relationship and creative process. The Pitchfork article was particularly brilliant, and the Spin interview made me fall in love with them all over again. 

And while I still adore the way Alexis thrashes her bangs, I have a serious crush on Derek Miller. In the Spin article, he is hyper critical of himself and his music in the way that only people who are truly alive are. He admits to deploring guitar rock, while reveling in the very essence of it (see: Def Leppard). And gets real and really sensitive about family matters, which re-broke my broken heart. In short, Derek’s the metal man of my dreams. 

Teen dreams aside, “Leader of the Pack” is my favorite track from the album. Very sadly, it’s about the death of Derek’s father. Alexis sings, Do you remember when/you used to sleep at night. No, guys, I don’t. But I love your new album.