I think I just made the worlds greatest salad. Candied walnuts (homemade), raisins, avocado, green apple, feta, cocktail olives and baby spinach. (Taken with instagram)
Everyone check out my boyfs poster in the middle!
I’ve never really wanted to live in Denver. Until now, that is. The Jay Shaw-curated “The Machines Are Winning: A Tribute To Sidney Lumet” show looks to be an incredible display of talent and opens on Friday, September 9th at 7PM. Any leftovers (and I hope there will be some) will be available through the Kingdom of Nonsense store the next day. If anything is left I’ll be sure to do an in-depth write-up. Head over to Kingdom of Nonsense for more info on the show and follow him @tweetofnonsense. I’m really starting to regret not buying into Jay’s Ninth Circle!
Just discovered this video.
While the two halves seem a little confused and incohesive - two really beautifully shot concepts - especially the first.
Sleigh Bell’s Reign of Terrible?
Don’t get me wrong - I love Sleigh Bells. But I’m into the 3rd last track from the end of the album, and this is the second song I’ve really enjoyed, which is heartbreaking to say the least. The other track I quite enjoyed was ‘Demons’, which I will get to later on.
Tracks 3 through 6 however, were disappointing - monotonously the same in form and construction, I felt like I was listening to the same song sung differently each time. In their debut album, I admired Sleigh Bells for their infusion of genres and refreshing sound in what was a dull and repetitive world for me, musically. However this chunk of the album sounds like they have written a pretty boring pop song (often riffing on the same note over and over rhythmically - which has worked in the past to their advantage), and chucked their signature synth kit and overdrive guitars over the top.
In Treats, tracks like ‘Tell ‘Em’, ‘Kids’, and ‘Infinity Guitars’ were hits due to their dance-like qualities, and their catchy and unusual rhythmic tunes. Sleigh Bells were noticed for their unique sound; a novelty. Unfortunately, such novelty can go only so far, and a good track needs more than recognisably unique features meshed into a formula. Instead of bouncing from track to track wondering what’s next, I sit here wondering what is going to be new? Not just new within their sound as a band, but also from track to track - are the same chord progressions happening here?
Having said all of this, there are a few redeeming qualities I would like to mention in the band’s defense. ‘Comeback Kid’ is the sixth track on the album. I, personally, am not a huge fan. However a lot of people are, and I can see why. Sleigh Bells are really great at exploring new harmonies, and new, unusual melody lines. ‘Comeback Kid’ has this, and while I feel its trying to move towards the more accessible genre of Pop, the song does get into your head - mission accomplished. Perhaps this should have been the first single, instead of Born to Lose?
I am a big fan of the tracks ‘Demons’ and ‘You Lost Me’. ‘Demons’ reminds me of classic Sleigh Bells with an atmospheric riff to build the song up, and catchy rhythmic lyrics that you can bang and thrash to. I think a lot of their charm is in their chanted words, which certainly help drive their live atmosphere. ‘You Lost Me’ reminds me of Cocteau Twins’ breathy, undecipherable, shoegazey vocals. This song is a really lovely break from their gritty sound and is sort of nostalgic towards somewhere in the 80s, while still being their own.
Sleigh Bells. I loved you at Terminal 5 last Friday - you have a great live presence and your songs resounded like anthems to your audience. I hope I can hear something fresh from you soon.
@3 months ago
