I have a secret. I listen to music differently than you’d think. I’m not weird, I promise. Blame it on the years I’ve spent being around music heads and hopeful music producers that has acclaimed my appreciation for the art that goes into creating music. I would watch and listen to how intense every detail was in perfecting the boom-boom-clap to match the accompanying lyrics. Mind you, my friends did all this from their own computer systems and equipment they could afford under their “student/starving artist “budget. Therefore, I found it easy to co-sign on the dynamic duo, Sleigh Bells, who contain highly concentrated talent, roller coaster rock riff sounds, one-of-a-kind stage presence, and a dose of pure luck.

Hailing from Brooklyn by way of Florida, Sleigh Bells is compromised of two clever individuals named Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, with Krauss on the vocals and Miller on the production and songwriting side. The two haven’t even put out an album, merely leaked demos, but have been receiving acclaim from folks at The New Yorker and The New York Times, to music blogs like Stereogum and Pitchfork. That’s because their style has this camouflage genre, which can be attributed to their unique sounds of electro-pop to Baltimore dance club, to indie hipster-pop to even some hip-hop. Don’t forget to dash in some attention due to Krauss’s energetic on-stage persona, who moves in ways that make you want to get up and jump around to their music while eating an icy-pop.

But their come up story holds a similar note, with both artists having been in the music industry before. Krauss was a singer from a pop girl band named Ruby Blue before she began her teaching career in the Bronx. As for Miller, he was a part of hardcore rock band Poison The Well before making way into his homemade music production. They met at Miller’s old restaurant gig and the rest was music history.

What I like about them is that they don’t subscribe to rules or agendas, they go on stage with one amp, a few pedals and one mic, but completely own their performances. Here’s what my imagination brings when I hear my favorite ensemble by Sleigh Bells:

• “Crown on the Ground”: I’m totally rocking out on the dance floor with my girls in some underground lounge in New York City.

• “Beach Girls”: Since this is the coolest modern femme twist nod to beaches since The Beach Boys made “California Girls,” I’m rolling down the 401 with my shades and sunscreen.

In Krauss’s hay day, her Ruby Blue song entitled “That’s What Girls Do” sings “why I need 32 pairs of shoes to wear.” Clearly, she was talking about her Nikes. If you wonder why they’re called “Bands We Should Be Really Listening To” by top broadcast news music sites, be sure to give them your undivided attention Starting, now.

-Missy Enaje

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