Noise pop duo Sleigh Bells have shared an unreleased track “Holly,” which was originally recorded for their debut studio album Treats, back in 2010. This track will be released as part of the 10 Years of Mom+Pop compilation box set, that will be released on November 23 as part of Record Store Day and Black Friday.
“Holly,” features the familiar blend of noise-rock and pop which the duo has made their name from. The bass featured on the track is heavily distorted giving it a shoegaze vibe, on top of Alexis Krauss’ catchy hooks and distorted vocals. Electric guitars are also prominently featured on the track giving it an added punk vibe.
This upcoming Mom+ Pop label box-set will be proceeded by a special 10 year anniversary event at Brooklyn Steel on October 22, that will feature guest performers. Sleigh Bells are scheduled to play on the line-up which includes Courtney Barnett, Alice Merton, Sunflower Bean, Neon Indian and former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
“Our ambition has been and always will be to build a collaborative label with transparency and sincere respect for our artist’s creative controls,” Mom +Pop Founder Michael Goldstone and Co- President Thaddeus Rudd said in a press statement regarding this release.
Sleigh Bells was formed in 2008 after guitarist Derek Miller, who had previous experience performing in hardcore punk bands, moved to New York City where he met Krauss. The duo blended Miller’s experience with punk with Krauss’ experience in pop and theater, with the duo eventually releasing an EP in 2009 on M.I.A’s N.E.E.T. Recordings.
Treats followed the next year and was released on Mom+Pop records. The album was bolstered by tracks such as “Rill Rill,” and “Tell ‘Em,” which were prominently featured in commercials and television. Despite the band’s indie appeal, Miller has stated that he is not interested in making music for a particular demographic.
As far as the indie versus mainstream, it’s not a conversation that Alexis and I have ever had,” Miller explained in an interview with the River Front Times.”We both kind of maintain that no one person deserves to hear music or specifically our music more than another. Whether it’s a Lady Gaga fan, fucking anywhere, Indianapolis. Or someone who spends all their time reading blogs.”
Krauss also shared a similar sentiment, explaining how her earlier experience in the music industry encouraged her to seek out different styles. “Even as I was doing the really glossy pop stuff, I would come home at night and go to hardcore shows in New Jersey,” Krauss explained in Pitchfork interview in 2010.“That was what always seemed like the most honest form of music; I was totally mortified by what I was doing, and then I would go to these shows and think they were so much cooler. So after Rubyblue and being in this really fucked up pop world, I wanted anything but that.
Sleigh Bells held short winter tour across the United States and Canada during the beginning of the yea, which included a stop at Brooklyn Steel. In January Krauss released solo track entitled “Our Land,” with the Our Land Collective for a conservation effort.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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