“I absolutely adore it! It sounds like two people slipping on a banana peel and accidentally catching lightning in a bottle. To me, Treats is this little freakshow island of a record,” says Derek Miller, producer, guitarist, and one-half of Sleigh Bells, whose debut LP, Treats, which dropped on May 24th of 2010, turned 15 this weekend (You may have heard Treats track “Rill Rill” on the May edition of Philthy Radio, my monthly show for Y-Not Radio, now streaming.) “It is quite surreal to be able to look out and see fans who have been in the crowd for 15 years,” adds Alexis Krauss, frontwoman (and co-producer for the last three albums) of the Brooklyn noise-pop legends (who could be argued to be the best frontperson of her generation… although there’s not much of an argument to be made against that…), who actually thanks me for the reminder of the album’s big birthday.
I’m speaking with Derek and Alexis from the road, via Google Chat, where they’d just played Portland the previous night (“Shit was flawless. They were hype,” says Derek, before Alexis chimes in, “Which is interesting, because when you think of Portland, you think of them as being really chill.”) The last time I spoke with Derek (This is my first time chatting with Alexis.) was in August of 2022, prior to the band’s show at Theatre of Living Arts, one of their last shows before the current jaunt, which kicked off May 7th and will have Sleigh Bells returning to Union Transfer next Tuesday, June 3rd (Enter to win two tickets courtesy of Y-Not Radio.) In addition to bringing their music to their fans, Derek admits that there’s one other thing about being on the road that he especially appreciates: “I’m always looking for the best chicken wings in town, or some wild-ass treats, no pun intended [laughs]. The other day I was eating bubblegum ice cream on a sugar cone covered in Nerds.”
That particular concoction of sweets would actually seem to be a fitting culinary manifestation of Sleigh Bells’ latest sounds… or really any of their sounds… The duo are currently touring their sixth full-length, Bunky Becky Birthday Boy, which dropped April 4th on the group’s longtime home of Mom + Pop Music. The album’s narrative blends fiction and autobiography, with “Bunky Becky” a longtime nickname for Alexis’ dog Riz, who passed away in December of 2023, and Alexis’ 19-month-old son Wilder (who’s on the road with the band!) serving as the birthday boy. However, the LP’s two main characters around whom the narrative revolves, Becky and Roxette, also serve as alter-egos for Miller and Krauss themselves, best friends who started a band together 17 years ago. The album’s lead single, which dropped in January, is even called “Wanna Start A Band?”
“I’m always chasing an idea that gives me chill bumps, or goose bumps… Honestly, it hasn’t changed. I’m just trying to make something rad that I’d want to listen to,” Derek says when I ask how Sleigh Bells’ approach to making music has changed in the past 17 years, although he admits that there have been periods when he had a different mindset: “At this stage in the band, I’m always trying to find the best version of the band… In the past, I’d often try to rip up the manual and start over… Like how Radiohead is always obsessively trying to not repeat themselves.” He notes that a song like “And Saints,” the final track of 2017’s Kid Kruschev EP, is basically a Sleigh Bells song in name only, but lacking any of their established sonic elements, before going on to say, “These days, I’m trying to find something fresh within a framework.”
“Making records is the absolute highlight,” Derek tells me upon being asked about the best things Sleigh Bells have experienced in their first 17 years, and suggests that there will be many more years to come: “It’s the promise of new music that makes me get up and go every single day of my life… We’re always making new music.” “Music is the thing I love most in this world. I mean, maybe if I had a kid, I’d love them more,” he jokes, going on to say that the nightly interactions with fans mean far more to the band than their listeners likely realize: “When we have people telling us how much our records mean to them, I’m like, ‘I know how you feel! And thank you!’” “It’s all about the reciprocity, when you put every ounce of energy, heart, and soul into your performance and you get it back,” adds Alexis, before admitting, “The realization of just how long we’ve been doing this and how proud I am, and the gratitude and appreciation… It’s less fraught than it used to be in some ways. It feels more joyful than it has in the past.”
This sentiment seems to be more prevalent than ever with the tour behind Bunky Becky Birthday Boy. “It’s been rad, especially because the last two tours were COVID tours… It’s been a celebration,” Derek says of the first few weeks of the trek, also admitting that it’s his third tour sober, which is something he’s been thoroughly enjoying. Every show of the tour has been opening with [my personal favorite] BBBB album track “Badly,” a sort of light homage to Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right.” “We wanted to be unafraid to make it a fun track and not be self-conscious about making it a touch cliché,” Derek says of the song’s origins, before Alexis adds, “It really sets the tone, that celebratory tone that lets the audience know they can relax into this.” The show will feature a live band — Kate Steinberg on keys and vocals and drummer Billy Rymer, who also drums for The Dillinger Escape Plan – and, in addition to about half of the new album, a plethora of Sleigh Bells classics, something that Alexis tells me the two of them are totally loving: “Like Derek was saying, it kind of feels like a celebration… At this point in our career, with this catalogue, we literally just get to play our favorite songs every night!”
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