The Blockley Friday February 24th

9PM $12 in advance $15 Day of Show

With Superhuman Happiness and Dirk Quinn Band

The Abbey Bar Sunday February 26th

Marco Benvento w/ Guests

7PM $7 in Advance $10 Day of Show

01. Good Morning
02. Say Goodbye
03. Little Broken Hearts
04. She’s 22
05. Take It Back
06. After The Fall
07. 4 Broken Hearts
08. Travelin’ On
09. Out On The Road
10. Happy Pills
11. Miriam
12. All A Dream

Tour Dates:

03/15 – Austin, TX @ Waterloo Records (SXSW) (w/ The Little Willies)
03/15 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s (SXSW) (w/ The Little Willies)
03/17 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa (SXSW)
05/28 – Amsterdam, NL @ Carre Theater
06/01 – London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall
06/02 – London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall
06/29 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater
07/14 – Lucca, IT @ Lucca Festival
07/16 – Luxembourg City, LU @ Neumunster Abbey
07/17 – Hamburg, DE @ Stadtpark
07/22 – Pori, FI @ Pori Jazz Fest
08/10 – Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Bowl

TRACKLIST:
01 “I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was The Greatest Night Of My Life”
02 “Sunshine In Chicago”
03 “The Moderately Talented Yet Attractive Young Woman Vs. The Exceptionally Talented Yet Not So Attractive Middle Aged Man”
04 “That Bird Has A Broken Wing”
05 “Elaine”
06 “The Winery”
07 “Young Love”
08 “Song For Richard Collopy”
09 “Among The Leaves”
10 “Red Poison”
11 “Track Number 8″
12 “Not Much Rhymes With Everything’s Awesome At All Times”
13 “King Fish”
14 “Lonely Mountain”
15 “UK Blues”
16 “UK Blues 2″
17 “Black Kite”

When Sleigh Bells dropped Treats in 2010, they showed the world that loudness still matters.  Taking heavy guitar riffs to their extremes, Derek Miller positioned a heavy rock aesthetic within the canon of indie in a way that really hadn’t been developed yet to that extent.  And then there’s Alexis Krauss, the girl that used to sing for Nickelodeon advertisements, singing in her overtly feminine style behind a wall of bass, drums, and heavy guitar riffs.  That’s what set Sleigh Bells apart: their placement of a “girly” voice behind a wall of distortion.  They explore a new area of noise rock that emphasizes the noise, and lets the charm of Krauss’ voice fill in the gaps. When you look at the cover art of Reign of Terror, released 2/21/12, it looks like you’re in for more of the same.

The album name puts the image of rock in all its glory in the listener’s mind.  The pair of beat-up Keds with a drop of blood on the toe suggests that you’re going to get the same assault of noise that made Treats rock so hard.  The placement of a machine gun next to a guitar on the inside of the album sleeve works toward the same end.  It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be heavy, and it’s going to be awesome.  But what unfolds through the album’s 37 minutes is a more refined and palatable Sleigh Bells that still knows how to kick some ass every now and then.  Though the persistent heaviness pops up here and there on Reign of Terror, a more immediately listenable set of songs emerges throughout.  Sleigh Bells still know how to rock, but prove that they can also create catchy songs.

“Crush,” shows the immediate catchiness of Sleigh Bells’ tunes. To date, this is as close to a radio-friendly song as they’ve come up with. It’s almost danceable, even … almost.  That being said, the guitars are heavy in a melodic way.  They lurch and move with the drums as Krauss sings in an equally melodic way. While Treats told us to “set that crown on the ground,” Reign of Terror proclaims “I gotta crush on you.”  The high-school aesthetic has always been heavy in Sleigh Bells’ work, but it’s seeping through this song.

The crowd that was into the “Rill Rill” aspect of Sleigh Bells have “End of the Line” to listen to.  Chilled out multi-tracked vocals and subtle guitar arpeggios characterize this one. This is Sleigh Bells toned down. Though it doesn’t hold the same power that the other tracks do, it carries the same weight; it doesn’t rely on loudness and crunch to draw you in.

All in all, Reign of Terror shows more depth than Treats.  While songs like “Crush” and “End of the Line” show an accessibility that will certainly appeal to more people, “Demons,” and “Born to Lose” prove that Sleigh Bells still rock. They’re still a noise-rock band, but Reign of Terror will most likely appeal to a wide-ranging audience due to it’s slightly toned down edge. This isn’t to say that Sleigh Bells turns the volume down, but rather that they add depth to the noise while simultaneously creating unique and inventive songs.  Be sure not to miss Reign of Terror: it’s a keeper for sure!

A live set I recorded w/ Sirius Loft (Sirius channel 30) will air today at 2pm est. It will also replay friday at 11, saturday at noon and sunday at midnight (all set).

To tide you over until 2 o’clock, check out this live performance from Vile below:

Women are now in the middle of an indefinite hiatus, but, during their active years, the band released two records for Jagjaguwar to critical acclaim. Reimer’s work on guitar played a huge role in shaping the band’s sound, which is influenced by distortion associated with shoegaze and grunge. See videos of Women below, and hear some highlights of Reimer’s career as a musician:

Tallestmannewsong by TwentyFourBit.com

Full Line Up:

The Allman Brothers Band

Phil Lesh and Friends

The Flaming Lips

Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby featuring special guest Branford Marsalis

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Lotus

G. Love & Special Sauce

Galactic

Shpongle presents The Masquerade

Mickey Hart Band

Trampled by Turtles

SOJA

Railroad Earth

Papadosio

The Werks

The Wood Brothers

Lettuce

The Lumineers

Everyone Orchestra

The Rex Jam

Plus many more to be announced

Early bird tickets go on sale for $159.00 this friday!

For More info go to:

www.allgoodfestival.com