Album Review: “Jessica Rabbit” by Sleigh Bells

Brooklyn-based musical duo Sleigh Bells categorizes themselves as “noise pop”, which first time listeners will likely find to be an apt assertion. Jessica Rabbit is the band’s fourth album, and as such one would expect a certain level of maturity and technical excellence that is noticeably lacking from Sleigh Bells’ most recent release. The band’s earlier efforts established the loud, punk-esque sound that Sleigh Bells has become known for, and these previous albums- particularly the debut album, Treats– maintained a sense of energy and originality that gave Sleigh Bells its appeal. With Jessica Rabbit, however, the band seems to have lost the drive and enthusiasm that made their other albums successful. Unfortunately, the most notable thing about Jessica Rabbit is that it’s loud.

The biggest issue with Jessica Rabbit is that the artists seem torn between retaining their original sound and moving on to a new one, and are thus unable to fully commit either way. Jessica Rabbit features more electronic instrumentals and a greater focus on vocals, as opposed to their earlier albums that relied on heavy guitar and percussion to carry the momentum of the music. Sleigh Bells’ attempts to recreate the qualities of their earlier work, as in tracks like “Throw Me Down The Stairs,” seem half-hearted. The bright spots of Jessica Rabbit occur when the band takes a more subdued approach, breaking away from their signature high volume sound. “Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold” in particular is one of the few tracks on the album in which Sleigh Bells’ use of electronic instrumentals rather than more traditional elements is successful, creating a sound that bears more similarity to artists like Ellie Goulding or Purity Ring than bands that Sleigh Bells has traditionally been compared to, such as Best Coast.

Longtime fans of Sleigh Bells will likely find Jessica Rabbit to be a disappointing album because it’s not loud enough. First time listeners will likely not enjoy the album because it’s too loud. The good news is that if Sleigh Bells is still the punk(ish) band they branded themselves as with their debut in 2010, they really don’t care if you like it anyway.