Album Review: Sleigh Bells

I bought Sleigh Bells' debut album "Treats" on iTunes maybe two months ago. And I have to be honest, I had seen that album for about a year and was intrigued by the cover but didn't even listen to the previews until I read that Beyonce had worked with them for her new album coming up (they aren't sure if they're track will make the album). Than I headed to YouTube to hear if their sound would mesh with hers, and from the two or three tracks I heard I thought it would be an interesting match.
So I went ahead and bought the album, and was surprised by it. They fall under this genre of "Noise Pop" (have no idea where that term came from, but it does kind of fit), they use heavy electronic sounds and they are amped up to be super loud and grungy. The beauty of the album lies in two things, first the album is easy to swallow because the group is smart enough to make their songs relatively shorter than most. The loudness and the hooks could become redundant and boring if a song was over 4 minutes, but at an average of just 3 minutes long, the songs are "bite size" enough to enjoy them. The other thing about Sleigh Bells that's great is they are obviously fond of melody, and amongst the loud sort of angsty tracks, they supply really catchy and melodic hooks that make you remember each song. On a number of other electronic albums, it's basically just the track and songs kind of blend in together and lyrics and vocals are just muddled into the mix.
"Treats" is a great introduction to the group and their sound, which is pretty unique in that it's really underground but at the same time has enough to make it radio accessible. Definitley worth a listen.

Rating: 3.5 of 5
Best: Run the Heart, Rill Rill, Tell Em