Jessica Rabbit

Sleigh Bells, “Jessica Rabbit” (Torn Clean, 2016)
Four albums in, on a smaller label, their hip cachet fading fast and their prospects for indie-breakout stardom in ruins, these two come with . . . arguably their best album yet. A genuine departure and an experiment that actually works. The triumphal keyboard heraldry, processed-to-hiss spray-cheez-metal guitars and rollercoaster-techno-glam beats are all still there, but intercut with mournful acoustic-strum disorientation, hall-of-mirrors dub passages and more. Song structures shift abruptly halfway through, leaving you feeling like you woke up drunk in a house you’ve never seen before. Laugh at them if you must, but this cements their status as a band people will come back to ten years from now to remember how the ‘70s sound/felt.
Try 2, 5, 6
11/10/16