10/21/21 – On night one of their two day residency at Teragram Ballroom in LA, Sleigh Bells basically tore the walls down of the venue with their aerial-assault type guitar mixed with soaring vocals.
Sleigh Bells only consists of two members which may surprise a casual fan. The sheer volume and thickness to their sound would suggest a chorus of bandmates. Live, though, two seems like just enough as both Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller have a pop-rocks-in-soda stage presence.
The two first met in 2008 and quickly after released their groundbreaking EP followed by their first LP Treats. The staying power of these tracks over the years is a testament to their innovative qualities. They’re designed to punch you in the mouth one moment and sing you a sweet candy-coated lullaby the next.
Five albums later, they’ve returned with Texis. It’s a return to form in certain ways; once again embracing the loud in-your-face pop that made then an immediate sensation. Their setlist was peppered with primarily tracks from these two releases. From the newest album, highlights were the opener “Justine Go Genesis” and the insanely catchy “Locust Laced”. From their first album, “Infinity Guitars”, “Kids”, and of course “Rill Rill” lead the way.
Beams of light scorched through Miller and Krauss through the show, interrupted only by occasional strobes and complete darkness. Krauss and Miller played off of this with tons of crowd interaction and unending energy.
The encore ended with their first huge single “Crown on the Ground”. It’s always cool seeing a band still enjoy playing their first big hit. With this track, with its searing riff and airy vocals, the crowd absolutely flattened under the weight of the noise.
Sleigh Bells continue their tour into Northern California and the Northwest with shows in Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle after this.
Photos + Review by Andrew Ameter | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!