Treats (album)
Encyclopedia
Treats is the debut studio album
by American noise pop
duo Sleigh Bells
, released jointly on May 11, 2010 by Mom + Pop Music and N.E.E.T. Recordings.
and M.I.A.
. Miller stated that the ensuing positive feedback and his "dream collaboration" working with M.I.A. in her studio on the album Maya
(2010) gave him the confidence to do the Treats record without opting for a co-producer. Miller worked with M.I.A. on the track "Meds and Feds" in 2009, following which she signed the group to her label N.E.E.T.
Alexis Kraus said of M.I.A.: "It's really exciting to have her in our court and be able to work with her. At this point it's more about being part of a creative community and the day-to-day running of the business is pretty much Mom + Pop's job. It's the fact that she had interest in us literally before anyone else cared at all which definitely boosted our confidence.” The track "Treats" contains an interpolation of the song "Meds and Feds".
Vocalist Alexis Krauss spoke of her enjoyment at the collaborative nature of the album making process with Miller, telling Drowned in Sound
: “When we got into the studio we began collaborating more. There's a few tracks on the album - "Tell Em", "Riot Rhythms", "Run the Heart" – which definitely became more collaborative in terms of me doing more work on melodies, harmonies and we plan on further explorations of this in the future." She also spoke of the different vocal styles she employed to convey the meanings of each song. "On a song like "Infinity Guitars", obviously the delivery is going to be much more aggressive and menacing while a song like "Rill Rill", you are occupying a much different state of mind when you're delivering those vocals.”
Treats was recorded in January and February 2010. The song "Rill Rill" contains a sample of the 1971 Funkadelic
song "Can You Get to That".
The second single from the album was the track "Infinity Guitars". A music video for the song premiered on NME's website on Monday, September 20, and the single was released on November 8, 2010.
The Track "Rill Rill" was featured on the 4th season of Gossip Girl
. The song "Kids" was featured in promo ads for the USA adaption of the popular teen show, "Skins". It was also used prominently in the trailer for Abduction
, starring Taylor Lautner, and in the trailer for FIFA 12
.
The Univision
network TV show El Gordo y La Flaca
played a 30 second sample of the song "Crown on The Ground" in August 2010.
The music video for "Rill Rill" debuted on MTV
on January 27, 2011.
The upcoming 2011 game, Bodycount, features Sleigh Bell's song "Kids" in the trailer.
Cinemax recently launched its trailer for its new series, Strike Back
, which includes Sleigh Bells song 'Riot Rhythm' from their second album, Treats
.
gave the album 9.3/10 or a "phenomenal" rating, and said that it is "a supremely raw and visceral pop masterwork". Pitchfork Media
writer Mark Richardson gave the album 8.7/10, earning it a "Best New Music" accolade, stating that it sounds "remarkably fresh and unlike anything else right now". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
awarded Treats an A-, describing the sound as "genre-swerving". UK-based review aggregator AnyDecentMusic?
correlated 33 reviews with an ADM Rating of 8.1. Treats currently has a Metacritic
aggregate score of 84%, indicating "Universal Acclaim". Rolling Stone magazine placed "Infinity Guitars" at #21 on their list of the Best Singles of 2010.
Exclaim!
named "Treats" the No. 16 Pop & Rock Album of 2010. Pitchfork Media
placed it at number 16 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".
Albums Chart while coming in at #4 on the Independent Albums Chart.
It peaked at 12 on the UK indie Charts
According to year end charts worldwide the album sold a total of 500,000 copies.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American noise pop
Noise pop
Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative rock developed in the mid 1980s in the UK and US, that mixes atonal noise or feedback, or both, with the melodic instrumentation and production elements more often found in pop music, making it more melodic and angst-free than noise rock.-History:Noise pop has...
duo Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells is an American noise pop music duo. The group released their debut album, Treats, on May 11, 2010.-History:Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sleigh Bells is composed of Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss...
, released jointly on May 11, 2010 by Mom + Pop Music and N.E.E.T. Recordings.
Track listing
- "Rill Rill" samples "Can You Get to That?" by FunkadelicFunkadelicFunkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
.
Recording
Derek E. Miller's rough demos gained the attention of Spike JonzeSpike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
and M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
. Miller stated that the ensuing positive feedback and his "dream collaboration" working with M.I.A. in her studio on the album Maya
Maya (M.I.A. album)
Maya is the third studio album by British-Tamil recording artist M.I.A., released in July 2010 on her own label, N.E.E.T. Recordings, through XL Recordings and Interscope Records. Songwriting and production for the album were primarily handled by M.I.A., Blaqstarr and Rusko...
(2010) gave him the confidence to do the Treats record without opting for a co-producer. Miller worked with M.I.A. on the track "Meds and Feds" in 2009, following which she signed the group to her label N.E.E.T.
Alexis Kraus said of M.I.A.: "It's really exciting to have her in our court and be able to work with her. At this point it's more about being part of a creative community and the day-to-day running of the business is pretty much Mom + Pop's job. It's the fact that she had interest in us literally before anyone else cared at all which definitely boosted our confidence.” The track "Treats" contains an interpolation of the song "Meds and Feds".
Vocalist Alexis Krauss spoke of her enjoyment at the collaborative nature of the album making process with Miller, telling Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
: “When we got into the studio we began collaborating more. There's a few tracks on the album - "Tell Em", "Riot Rhythms", "Run the Heart" – which definitely became more collaborative in terms of me doing more work on melodies, harmonies and we plan on further explorations of this in the future." She also spoke of the different vocal styles she employed to convey the meanings of each song. "On a song like "Infinity Guitars", obviously the delivery is going to be much more aggressive and menacing while a song like "Rill Rill", you are occupying a much different state of mind when you're delivering those vocals.”
Treats was recorded in January and February 2010. The song "Rill Rill" contains a sample of the 1971 Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
song "Can You Get to That".
Promotion
Prior to the album's release, the track "Tell 'Em" was released as a free download on April 28, 2010 via the Mom + Pop website.The second single from the album was the track "Infinity Guitars". A music video for the song premiered on NME's website on Monday, September 20, and the single was released on November 8, 2010.
The Track "Rill Rill" was featured on the 4th season of Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
. The song "Kids" was featured in promo ads for the USA adaption of the popular teen show, "Skins". It was also used prominently in the trailer for Abduction
Abduction (2011 film)
Abduction is an American action thriller film, directed by John Singleton, starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Sigourney Weaver, Maria Bello, Jason Isaacs, Michael Nyqvist, and Alfred Molina. The film is about a teenager who finds out that his parents are not really his when he sees his baby...
, starring Taylor Lautner, and in the trailer for FIFA 12
FIFA 12
FIFA 12 is the nineteenth game in Electronic Arts' FIFA series of association football video games. It was developed by EA Canada, and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. David Rutter, the line producer for FIFA 12, promised "a revolutionary year for FIFA .....
.
The Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
network TV show El Gordo y La Flaca
El Gordo y la Flaca
El Gordo y la Flaca is a Spanish-language entertainment news show...
played a 30 second sample of the song "Crown on The Ground" in August 2010.
The music video for "Rill Rill" debuted on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
on January 27, 2011.
The upcoming 2011 game, Bodycount, features Sleigh Bell's song "Kids" in the trailer.
Cinemax recently launched its trailer for its new series, Strike Back
Strike Back: Project Dawn
Strike Back: Project Dawn, as it is known in the United Kingdom is a ten-part British-American action television serial, and is the second series of Strike Back. However the only cast member to return from the original series was Richard Armitage in the first episode...
, which includes Sleigh Bells song 'Riot Rhythm' from their second album, Treats
Treats
Treats is a 1975 play by Christopher Hampton about a love triangle.-Plot summary:The play is set in 1974, London, in a single room in Ann's flat. There are three characters: Ann, her former boyfriend Dave, and her lover Patrick....
.
Reception
Treats received extremely positive reviews. PastePaste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
gave the album 9.3/10 or a "phenomenal" rating, and said that it is "a supremely raw and visceral pop masterwork". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
writer Mark Richardson gave the album 8.7/10, earning it a "Best New Music" accolade, stating that it sounds "remarkably fresh and unlike anything else right now". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
awarded Treats an A-, describing the sound as "genre-swerving". UK-based review aggregator AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates reviews of contemporary music albums, covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots and urban...
correlated 33 reviews with an ADM Rating of 8.1. Treats currently has a Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
aggregate score of 84%, indicating "Universal Acclaim". Rolling Stone magazine placed "Infinity Guitars" at #21 on their list of the Best Singles of 2010.
Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
named "Treats" the No. 16 Pop & Rock Album of 2010. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
placed it at number 16 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".
Charts
The week following its release, Treats placed at #39 on the overall Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
Albums Chart while coming in at #4 on the Independent Albums Chart.
It peaked at 12 on the UK indie Charts
According to year end charts worldwide the album sold a total of 500,000 copies.
Personnel
- Derek E. Miller - SongwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Alexis Krauss - Vocals, SongwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...