大象传媒

When you were a kid did you ever get really excited about going to birthday parties? An excitement fuelled by thoughts of jam filled butter-creamed birthday cake, a paper plate stacked with an infinite supply of sausage rolls, orange fizzy drink in cardboard cups, and of course the wondrous goody bag that gets handed to you as you leave - brimming with sweets and treats. But did you ever have the disappointing experience of attending one of those annoying birthday parties where you didn't get a glorious goody bag? Seeing Sleigh Bells live at the Ulster Hall resulted in a very similar feeling of anti-climatic deflation.

It is by no means their fault though; it's the music press that have been the bad birthday party hosts. The duo, who are signed to M.I.A's label N.E.E.T, have been put on a pedestal via most high profile music blogs and magazines for well over a year now. They played at the New York music showcase CMJ back in October 2009, which sparked the excitement and kick-started the domino effect of Sleigh Bells hype. You can understand the attention to a certain extent: charismatic, talented but undiscovered pop singer meets hardcore metal guitarist and they decide to make jagged, edgy, distorted pop music. Unfortunately while the melodies are highly seductive, the live performance is not pulled off so well overall.

The wall of eight Marshall amps on stage leads you to expect an obnoxiously loud and raucous set, but instead the distorted noise of the guitar riffs have to fight for attention with the backing track material that is used on almost every song. The set is high in energy, and with some strong songs up their hoody sleeves you would expect to be bowled over, but overall the performance lacks the power to make a visceral impact. That's not to say that they aren't a good band, it just lacks the lustre that could perhaps be injected with some additional live instrumental elements.茂驴陆

Despite this hang up, if you approach a Sleigh Bells gig expecting more of a DJ set with the addition of an awesome guitarist and MC on stage then it won't disappoint.茂驴陆 The strongest songs off their debut album Treats ooze charm, particularly 'A/B Machines' and the Funkadelic 'Can You Get To That' sampled 'Rill Rill' track, which are both received with rapturous whoops and hollers. Another highlight is 'Riot Rhythm' with its abrasive guitar riff and a mix of intense screams and melodic chants from Alexis Krauss. There's fan idolisation of an Alice Glass calibre thanks to the slick style and stage presence of Krauss. She reaches down to the front row to be greeted by dozens of fans' hands clutching onto her wonderfully tattooed arm as if her limb is a magnet and the fans are made of steel.

Upon leaving the Ulster Hall the general response is "It was good, but not as good as I had hoped", much like the feeling of leaving the party without that precious goody bag. Next time you go to see an over-talked about band play live just remember to expect nothing and you'll never be disappointed.

Harriet Pittard