Riding high in the estimations of trend-hunters everywhere, the Brooklyn duo could no doubt fill a venue twice the capacity of London's Heaven tonight, but this only makes the prospect of soaking up their furious aural assault in such a small space all the more tantalising.
The über-camp trance rock stylings of MEN kick off proceedings tonight, who get the nod from the crowd with their tight, guitar-laden brand of funk disco. Hotly-tipped Dalstonites Teeth follow, substituting the drum machine for (shock!) a real-life kit, with cymbals and everything. Coming on like Crystal Castles remixed by Orbital for a Sega Megadrive game's soundtrack, they get off to a rocky start but pull things together with the mildly psychotic 'Bears' and a soaring closer that sets the stage for the main contenders.
Who do not disappoint. Venturing onstage in strobe-assisted gloom, guitarist and producer Derek Miller and vocalist Alexis Krauss tear straight into a no-nonsense rendition of 'Infinity Guitars', setting the crowd ablaze from the opening chords. The building intensity of the song's Forrest Gump-simple riff explodes into a breakneck, thrash-infused chorus that envelops the room in a cacophony of blistering sound.
While Krauss holds court as Sleigh Bells' visual focal point, the current of dark noise issuing from Miller is equally enthralling, anchoring the band's performance with effortless guitaring that is simultaneously two-dimensional yet devastatingly powerful. While they won't be winning any awards for lyrical introspection, there's undeniably a musical intelligence to Sleigh Bell's current output, indebted as much to hip hop as heavy metal.
Having said this, Miller's background in hardcore outfit Poison the Well is testified to by the thunderous sheets of guitar punctuating the title track from their debut 'Treats', alongside the pummelling, nosebleed thud of 'Straight A's'. A delicious nod to Slayer's 'South of Heaven' by way of introduction to crowd-pleaser 'Tell 'Em' confirms the suspicion.
Fears that the layered vocals of 'Treats' will not be realised live are largely dismissed tonight, only becoming an issue towards the end of the set. Current single 'Rill Rill'' is a mellow counterweight to the elemental heaviness of the album, but live it's reduced to limp karaoke as Miller disappears and Krauss is left to sing over a backing track. Likewise, jewel in the crown 'Riot Rhythm', dropped in fairly early to rapturous effect, has slightly less teeth-bearing vigour in the flesh, despite that sledgehammer beat.
But really this is nitpicking tonight, Sleigh Bells are relentlessly, irresistibly compelling, translating the sex, swagger and brutality of their music to the stage with consummate ease. This is music you can rave, grind or mosh to, or even all three at the same time, and it's near-impossible to overstate how euphoric it is live.
article by: Nick Hagan
published: 16/02/2011 16:11
FUTURE GIGS
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