Entertainment

Sleigh Bells' New Track Is A Real "Beauty"

by Kristie Rohwedder

According to a framed poster I saw hanging in a doctor's waiting room years ago, patience is virtue. That might be true, but do you know what doesn't get enough credit? Impatience. Impatience also has its merits. For every now and again, impatience leads to awesome things like Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller surprising fans with awesome new music: Kicking off the work week on an A+ note, pop/rock duo Sleigh Bells shared one of the tunes that will be included on their to-be-released fourth album, the follow-up to 2013's Bitter Rivals (via Spin). Monday morning, the band’s Twitter account linked to the track and wrote, “Here’s a new song: Champions of Unrestricted Beauty. We are finishing up our record, didn’t want to wait." And we reap the rewards of their not wanting to wait.

“Champions of Unrestricted Beauty” is a markedly different vibe for the Brooklyn-based pair; the loud, distorted guitar that listeners associate with Sleigh Bells is no where to be found on this buoyant electro-pop track. If your eyebrow has assumed the arched position, fellow SB fan, go ahead and tell your skeptical brow to chill. Because here’s the thing about Sleigh Bells: With or without the buzzy, fuzzy crunchiness of Miller’s ax, the band sure can craft a banger of a song. And just like hit singles “Demons” and “Infinity Guitars,” “Champions of Unrestricted Beauty” is an undeniable banger. Between Krauss’s soaring vocals and the spooky-pop production, the act of listening to this shimmery, high-energy song is basically like feeding your ears chocolate-covered espresso beans.

There’s a 75% chance I will blow out my car stereo speakers listening to “Champions of Unrestricted Beauty” (it's the risk I take every time I play Sleigh Bells while driving).