Record Label: Mom+Pop
Pitchforks: 2.5/5
Sleigh Bells’ second album “Reign of Terror” is, in the nicest way possible, a tempestuous cacophony spilling over with discord and oozing repetition. The Brooklyn duo unabashedly takes cues from a wide field of profligate influences.
It’s as if Sleigh Bells heavily bribed Queen to completely structure the entire discordant composition of this album. With almost every distortion-razed soliloquy, Sleigh Bells attempts to make this millennia’s “We Will Rock You.”
“Reign of Terror” is the kind of music that would be played loudly from a brothel in some futuristic dystopia. It can be ruthlessly hedonistic and carnal, though the most positive thing that can be said of Sleigh Bells’ second album is that it is completely unrepentant — they knew exactly what they wanted to achieve with their sound on this album, though those who do listen are left popping aspirin until their headaches subside.
With its overtly trepidatious squelching guitars and aluminum bleacher-stomping percussions, the album relies heavily on other likeable influences in order to make this album even slightly palatable.
Queen, Metallica and Ratatat come to mind when listening to “Reign of Terror” and, coincidentally, make hitting the “skip track” button a common and eagerly practiced activity while listening. Even after gritting through consecutive spins of “Reign of Terror,” there is only one track, “End of the Line,” that can even tentatively be considered worthy of a single release.
There is no evident hit on “Reign of Terror,” so for all of the people who gyrated in their tattered Converses and wide-framed glasses to “Rill Rill,” don’t expect to be gratified by anything within a shadow of its likeness.
Evolution dictates that there should be a constant progression toward an enhanced state of existence, and this can be applied to how bands often change their sound in order to stay with their audience. In Sleigh Bells’ sophomore album, it very much appears they are floundering in a state of devolution.
The problem with “Reign of Terror” is that Sleigh Bells is trying to make each song a No. 1 hit with its superfluous stabbing guitar effects and the tedious amounts of indistinguishable vocals. From the opening to ending track, there is no variety or pleasant change of pace to be found anywhere.
Sleigh Bells stacks their Marshall amps in dimensions more easily measured by stories, and after listening to “Reign of Terror,” it is apparent that what the band wants to achieve is the complete destruction of their listeners’ eardrums.
Reach the reporter at rrocklif@asu.edu
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