photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

"There are some basic similarities to Ed Banger acts like Justice or M.I.A.. But if anything Sleigh Bells reminds me first of bands like My Bloody Valentine and The Pixies--beauty taken to its absolute pummeling extreme--or Output Records acts like Mu, who typify for me what pop music might sound as putrid, like if we let it sit out and fester for a few years and decompose.

A band that approached that formula was Poison the Well, a South Florida post-hardcore band for whom Miller was a guitarist and songwriter. In the genre, songs often have fierce riff-driven verses with screamed vocals, with relief coming in the form of a soaring, schmaltzy chorus. Miller played in the band for four years, from 2000 to 2004, then quit when the band was at the height of its popularity. This was more or less when the Sleigh Bells project began: trying to do both parts of the hardcore equation at once.

"As a music fan, I felt like there was this small gap for what I wanted to do," he explains. "I was obsessed with [the Deerhoof album] The Runners Four. I thought they got really close...But then live, all the ferocious elements on the album were wimpy and childlike. The drummer didn't even have a crash cymbal!""
[Nick Sylvester @ Resident Advisor]

Sleigh Bells shared a bill with France's Kap Bambino at The Studio @ Webster Hall on Saturday night - one of two recently-scheduled shows for Sleith Bells. The other is this Thursday (11/19) at Le Poisson Rouge. More pictures from The Studio with a Kap Bambino video and more tour dates (they're in LA tonight - 11/17), below...

Continue reading "Sleigh Bells & Kap Bambino @ The Studio in NYC - pics "

Sleigh Bells @ Santos Party House (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

Village Voice: Tell me what the first taste of "blog fame" is like. Is it weird?

Miller: It's everything I ever hoped it would be. My wildest dreams have come true. Actually it feels a lot like waiting tables, which is just fine really.
Krauss: It's nothing like waiting tables.
Miller: My mom started Googling us and listens to us on YouTube. The YouTube rips actually sound better than the 320 versions.

Sleigh Bells have two NYC shows coming up (one of which is tonight, 11/14). Dates and flyers below...

Continue reading "2 more chances to see Sleigh Bells (dates)"