Sleigh Bells

Sleigh Bells emerged as the experimental pop venture fronted by Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss, fusing sweet melodies with forceful rhythmic aggression. Their method of balancing these opposing qualities shifted from one album to the next. Treats, the duo’s 2011 debut that earned widespread praise, set hip-hop beats against punk guitar lines while Krauss supplied unadorned pop vocals; Reign of Terror followed in 2012 and merged R&B with hair-metal textures. Jessica Rabbit, arriving in 2016, demonstrated Sleigh Bells’ ability to deliver vulnerable passages that landed with the same impact as their loudest sections. The pair opened the 2020s via Texis in 2021, an album underscoring their role as forward-looking creators who anticipated hyperpop’s arrival along with Grimes, Poppy, and other musicians who discarded genre limits and merged melodic sweetness with sonic weight.

Miller, a Florida native and former Poison the Well member, moved to New York in 2008 hoping to assemble a fresh project; there he connected with Krauss, previously the singer of Rubyblue and later a political-science graduate who taught elementary-school Spanish. The two first crossed paths at a Brazilian bistro where Miller worked and Krauss dined with her mother; when Miller mentioned seeking a female vocalist, her mother offered Krauss for the role. They quickly recorded several demos and issued the self-released Sleigh Bells EP in 2009, which drew strong notices from both blogs and established outlets. Late that year Miller joined M.I.A. on tracks that surfaced on her album Maya. In early 2010 the duo signed with NEET, M.I.A.’s boutique imprint, and with Mom + Pop Music; Treats appeared that May, its boundary-crossing mix of pop, hip-hop, hard rock, and additional styles marking it among the year’s most celebrated releases.

Sleigh Bells toured extensively throughout 2011 yet still found time to record, Miller composing material shaped by his father’s death and employing a metallic-sounding Jackson USA Soloist. Reign of Terror reached stores in February 2012, incorporating expanded songwriting input from Krauss and more conventional pop frameworks. The album climbed to number 12 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, after which the pair maintained a rigorous touring schedule that included Florida shows alongside Diplo and Liturgy plus further dates with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Refused, and Class Actress. Songwriting for a third album began immediately after Reign of Terror’s release. Teaming with producer and engineer Shane Stoneback, Miller and Krauss drew from Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, and nu-metal to shape Bitter Rivals, issued in October 2013 and peaking at number nine on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart in the U.S. and number 36 on the U.K. Indie Albums Chart.

Following two relatively quiet years, Sleigh Bells resurfaced in 2015 with “Champions of Unrestricted Beauty,” an advance single previewing a fourth album that leaned toward more direct pop. In 2016 the duo filed suit against Demi Lovato, her producers, and UMG Recordings, claiming unauthorized sampling of the Treats tracks “Infinity Guitars” and “Riot Rhythm” on the 2015 song “Stars”; the matter reached settlement in 2017. Jessica Rabbit appeared that November on the band’s own Torn Clean label, featuring further work with Stoneback and Dr. Dre producer Mike Elizondo; it attained number eight on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums chart and number 35 on the U.K. Independent Albums chart. A year later the mini-album Kid Kruschev arrived, prompted by Krauss’s relocation upstate and the charged political atmosphere of the late 2010s. In 2018 Sleigh Bells supplied a cover of Lead Belly’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” for the soundtrack to The Rhythm Section and began work on album number five. Texis surfaced in September 2021 through Mom + Pop, balancing the refined songcraft heard on Jessica Rabbit and Kid Kruschev with the raw force of the group’s earliest recordings.