SLCene Suggests: Sleigh Bells at The Complex

SLEIGH BELLS, THE COMPLEX, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 8 p.m., $20

Sleigh Bells rise from bombastic novelty to alt-rock superstars can be tracked as easily as the different venues they’ve played in their previous Salt Lake City stops. The trek supporting debut album Treats featured a short, powerful stop at Urban Lounge. Sophomore album Reign of Terror was even noisier and crunchier than their debut, they played the larger Depot, and singer Alexis Krauss and guitarist/producer Derek Miller brought some extra instrumental muscle along with them. The duo just released their third (and best) album, Bitter Rivals, and while it maintains Sleigh Bells’ distinct bass-heavy sound and Krauss’s breathy-one-minute, shouting-the-next vocal style, it’s far more poppy a proposition than their previous work. That’s a good thing, because as fun as the shows were in past visits, the non-stop aggression got a little repetitive. The new songs should mix in nicely as Sleigh Bells plays their biggest Utah room to date at The Complex. Doldrums open the show.