Throughout its career, Sleigh Bells has seemed to benefit from a keen sense of timing, whether it be with tempo shifts and songwriting experimentation or the pacing of the band’s shows. And the duo’s performance at Metro on Tuesday was no exception, spanning material from each of its four albums, delivering a compact, hourlong set that mostly stuck to strengths.
When the duo — songwriter/guitarist Derek Miller and singer Alexis Krauss — released its debut album, “Treats,” in 2010, Sleigh Bells stood out with an inventive melding of disparate genres. The punked-up, hyperdriven sensibilities commingled with Krauss’ sweet, poppy vocals and Miller’s behemoth riffs, and the confluence of beats and samples awash in distortion were all delivered at maximum volume. Consecutive albums — 2012’s “Reign of Terror” and 2013’s “Bitter Rivals” — furthered Sleigh Bells’ studies in contrast. Then the duo spent three years crafting its latest release, “Jessica Rabbit,” to uneven results.
Though the tandem’s newest ideas aren’t always cohesive on record, particularly on some of the hookless, aimless recent numbers, Sleigh Bells sidestepped those pitfalls at Metro with a dynamic performance. The cacophonous crunch was both danceable and compelling, and the riveting Krauss was crucial to unifying the group’s varied work. Always in command of the stage, the charismatic singer showcased her versatility, from shouty chants on “Infinity Guitars” to soaring pop vocals on the ’80s-tipped “I Can Only Stare.” She headbanged, whirled about, grooved to the rhythms and jumped into the audience and crowd-surfed, each movement perfectly synced with Miller’s bracing riffs and programmed beats.
Their early work, such as the blistering “Crown on the Ground,” “Riot Rhythm” and “Tell ‘Em” were crowd favorites, but new songs, such as “It’s Just Us Now,” dovetailed decently into the mix. The meandering “Loyal For” worked better live than on record with Krauss singing alongside Tunde Olaniran, whose rousing performance opened the set.
Two of the wise ideas the band explored on the new album were Krauss becoming more involved with the songwriting and making her vocals more prominent, a welcome move both on record and live. It was another timely choice for a band whose novel, early approach is no longer so new. As Sleigh Bells demonstrated at Metro, bringing more of Krauss’ talents to the fore served her and the duo well.
Althea Legaspi is a freelance critic.
ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribent
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