In March 2008 guitarist Derek Miller, formerly of Florida hardcore band Poison the Well, moved to Brooklyn to find his fortune and took a job as a waiter. Over the past few months, though, what began as his home-recording project has become one of the buzziest bands in the country. With a string of MP3s that combine Miller’s howling guitars and booming beats with pop-chart-worthy vocals from Alexis Krauss—formerly of short-lived all-girl band RubyBlue—Sleigh Bells have earned accolades from Pitchfork, top honors on a year-end list compiled by New Yorker pop critic Sasha Frere-Jones, and a spot on the roster of M.I.A.’s new N.E.E.T. Recordings. Their first physical release, Treats, hits shelves May 18, and last Thursday in Chicago the pair opened a sold-out Metro show for fellow blog-beloved Brooklynites Yeasayer.
Miller: I always try to remember exactly what I said, ’cause I was kind of in the habit of describing it . . . if I met a girl at a bar or something [laughs], I would pretty much be immediately like, “Are you a singer?” Most of them were not amused. I think I usually describe it as rhythmic and heavy, but melodic and sort of still like pop music—but super rhythmic. Which, I guess, you could describe all music as rhythmic. . . . It sounded really idiotic.
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It seems like a lot of what you guys are trying to do is work current pop into a more art-rock framework—stuff that sounds a lot like the Top 40, which is the antithesis of underground music and hardcore punk, where you come from. Is this a conscious thing?
Miller: It’s weird, because hardcore is pretty much ignored by the critical establishment. I think a lot of people are bitter about that, but I never really cared. I never really noticed. I read Pitchfork, and I read the New Yorker like anyone; some of the stuff is real interesting. It’s really flattering is the simple answer. It’s nice because you never know . . . if anyone is going to give a shit. It’s like, “Really, you’re going to start a band? There’s so fucking many.”
Krauss: That’s why we’re very cautious about indulging the hype of it—because we know as quickly as things come, they go.
Krauss: We’ve never sat down and had a conversation about who our audience is going to be.
Miller: Then they go home and they have a great night, and you did that. It’s almost what happens at, like, club nights with DJs and dance acts. I was always really jealous of that.
