Photos And Review: Sleigh Bells At Metro

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 13, 2013 10:30PM

We've seen Sleigh Bells play a bunch of times in a number of venues and our primary critique of every show has been that, volume-wise, the band has never delivered on our expectations. Their live shows are unfailingly energetic; Alexis Krauss is impossible to take your eyes off of as she does her best to imitate a perpetual motion machine and Derek Edward Miller stomps all over the stage as he wrenches the band's trademark massive waves of noise out of his guitar. But man, the sounds was just never quite LOUD enough.

The equation changed on this tour as Sleigh Bells expanded into a full live four-piece band when they played Metro Sunday night, and it was that element that transformed their set from promising to punishing. It doesn't hurt that after a slight sophomore slump their new album, Bitter Rivals, has seen the band resurrect the direct approach that brought them to our attention in the first place—mixing playground melodies with metal riffs—and honed it even further into something shiny and even more dangerous than their debut. For the first time the band's sound blew past our expectations and the band delivered the best show we've seen out of them yet.

They're way past their buzz-band expiration date but Sleigh Bells is proving to be in it for the long haul.