Author: Dave

Treats
N.E.E.T.
myspace.com/sleighbellsmusic

A few things you should probably know about Sleigh Bells, if you haven’t already been over-exposed to the details of their being.

1. By all accounts, they are LOUD live. Like, you’re going to need earplugs.
2. The brains behind the operation, Derek Miller (beats, guitars, songwriting), is actually also in post-hardcore staples Poison The Well, who’ve recently gone on hiatus – presumably in no small part due to Miller’s foray into indie hipsterism.
3. Vocalist Alexis Krauss was a fledgling school teacher before coming across Miller and starting to work on music with him.
4. The duo are signed to M.I.A.’s N.E.E.T. label.

This one immediately became an office favourite. Stupidly over-hyped – if you haven’t heard the music itself yet you might be reluctant to give into the craze – but the truth is that this album rocks. ‘Treats’ is a pretty apt title as each track is a nugget of raucous beats and riffs, topped off with some alternately sugary-sweet and military-like shouting vocals from Alexis Krauss. Widely touted as electro or noise-pop or some sort of combination between the words electro, noise, pop and rock, it’s kind of difficult to decide whether Sleigh Bells are more rock-fuelled or more electronic-oriented. They tread the line between the two influences very well indeed. ‘Straight A’s’ in particular is a flurry of fuzzy loud guitar riffs that could only really fall into the rock spectrum of genre classification. This is followed up with ‘A/B Machines’ which incorporates a jangly guitar riff with uber-repetitive vocals and some siren-type noises and clap-like beats.

Throughout the album, programmed bleeps and beats are coupled with Derek Miller’s crunching guitar riffs. One of the main things to hook you in is the damn hypnotic effect of repetitive rhythms in Sleigh Bells’ music. Where in some music, repetition just makes for boredom, Sleigh Bells use it to great effect with the organized pattern of rhythms making their creations even more enthralling. With there being only two members of this outfit, and only one of them being responsible for all the instrumentals, it’s clear that the duo do rely a lot on programming and electronics to beef up their sound. I mean, their sound is pretty beefy. Not songwriting in the classical sense of the word but, however they’ve gone about making this music, it sounds fresh and original and, above all, makes for one of the most fun listens this year.

Winegums

Made Like Us
Doomtree Records
doomtree.net

Instrumental hip hop is a strange beast. For every DJ Shadow and RJD2, you get a thousand producers who sample an obvious record, loop it for three minutes and stick it on MySpace. When it’s done right however, there’s nothing quite like it and with this record Doomtree’s Paper Tiger has done it perfectly. When his False Hopes EP was released, he showcased his ability to render jaws well and truly dropped thanks to his smooth percussion and understated melodies so breath was certainly held when the announcement of his full-length debut was made.

The Cloquet 7” released around the Doomtree Blowout at the end of last year gave a great indication of what to expect with the tracks ‘2^nd Day Back’ and ‘And The Camera’ both included on the album but it’s the third track on the record, ‘The Bully Plank’ that kicks the music into the highest gear. A piano introduction flows into drums and vocal sample that weave magically together to make every neck muscle bulge and force the head to nod. It may not be a club smash, but you’d be hard pressed to find a beat as catchy and instantly enjoyable as this in 2010.

There are vocalists on the album too, with fellow Minneapolis’ Maggie [of Digitata and Lookbook fame] providing the words on ‘The Painter’s Arm’ and Doomtree crew-mate Dessa lending her untouchable vocals to ‘Palace’, the standout track on the album with its dusty drums and twinkly melody winding its way around the singing as well as making an appearance on the aforementioned ‘And The Camera’ which started its life an instrumental. Even when listening in awe to Dessa’s singing, it’s the beat that takes charge with more use of pianos and crisp snare.

Heavier beats can be found on the album too, ‘The Ritual’’s lilting bassline and thunderous drums bouncing off the soulful vocal samples and  the preceding track ‘The Tarrio’ also providing a sense of ominous foreboding punctuated with deep claps and legato strings. So, how to wrap up the album that offers so much depth and variety? ‘Cigana’ has beautiful strings and lifts off to place where the sun is setting and the sky has turned orange and pink and the final secret track is as “Paper Tiger” as a track can get, serene lulling vocals and almost reversed melodies, carrying the album to its peaceful end.

Mentioning Papes alongside such luminaries as Shadow and RJD2 could be a little eye-opening, but once Made Like Us has made its way through to the listener’s ears, there’s absolutely no doubting that this man belongs right alongside them. Never brash or in-your-face but always capable of evoking numerous emotions which cry out for the repeat button, Paper Tiger has released one of the albums of 2010.

Abjekt