Sleigh Bells - Jessica Rabbit (2016) [FLAC]

  Genre: Rock
  Styles: Indie, Noise Pop
  Source: CD (log + cue)
  Codec: FLAC
  Bit rate: ~ 900 kbps
  Bit depth: 16
  Sample rate: 44.1 kHz

  01 It's Just Us Now
  02 Torn Clean
  03 Lighting Turns Sawdust Gold
  04 I Can't Stand You Anymore
  05 Crucible 
  06 Loyal for
  07 I Can Only Stare 
  08 Throw Me Down the Stairs 
  09 Unlimited Dark Paths 
  10 I Know Not to Count on You 
  11 Rule Number One
  12 Baptism By Fire 
  13 Hyper Dark 
  14 As if 

  For Sleigh Bells, the blurring boundaries between pop's mainstream and underground are a blessing and a curse. Sometimes the results are outlandish, even by Miller and Krauss' standards: "Throw Me Down the Stairs," which combines '80s metal riffs with ambient passages, is one of their wildest pastiches yet. Other times, they're almost straightforward; "Baptism by Fire" delivers sparkly pop that makes the most of Krauss' vocals. More than ever, her voice is the anchor for Sleigh Bells' stylistic swings. "I'm loyal -- for now," she sings at one point on Jessica Rabbit, capturing the moment-to-moment existence within their songs. It also feels like there's more purpose, and righteous anger, anchoring their experiments. Authenticity is a major theme, with Krauss crooning "the real thing" over guitar outbursts on "It's Just Us Now" and comparing blood to plastic on "Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold." Though the duo excel at putting their contents under pressure on songs like "Crucible" and "Rule Number One," where the riffs ripple like shockwaves, Sleigh Bells also allow listeners a few more breathers. The "uh oh"s that punctuate "Hyper Dark"'s shattered balladry hint at Jessica Rabbit's state of emergency, while "Torn Clean" is one of the band's prettiest songs yet. Contrasts like these have been Sleigh Bells' modus operandi since the beginning, but Jessica Rabbit's mix of brashness and finesse proves they can still thrill