Sleigh Bells – Bunky Becky Birthday Boy
Sleigh Bells – comprised of producer/guitarist Derek Miller and singer Alexis Krauss – announce their seventh album Bunky Becky Birthday Boy out April 4th via Mom+Pop Music. A celebration of the pair’s unbelievable friendship, the new record also greets a brand-new (and every bit as explosive) chapter of Sleigh Bells.
Today, the band is sharing the album opener “Bunky Pop,” following last month’s first tease of the new album, “Wanna Start A Band?.”
The record immediately bounds to life on the effervescent opener, crashing in with gnawing guitar riffs and Krauss’ pulsing chants. “We wanted the track to sound like a dog having the best moment of her life without any of the burden of self consciousness,” Miller says. “‘Bunky Pop’ informed the entire record, and Bunky Becky kind of became a character woven into every song. We wanted to give her a friend, Roxette Ric, so we could play with a little bit of autobiography and fiction as well.”
Following 2021’s Texis, Bunky Becky Birthday Boy blasts into the room with razor-sharp guitars, ultra-sticky pop choruses, floor-shaking rhythms, and indelible chants, which kick off on the album’s instant-classic opening track. The pair are in constant communication with each other; even when they’re not actively recording music, they’re sending tracks back and forth. And that’s how Bunky Becky Birthday Boy came to be.
The playfully alliterative title is a symbolic quilt, weaving together endings and beginnings while loosely looping in the band’s own history. “‘Bunky Becky’ was a nickname for Alexis’ dog Riz, who passed away in December 2023. When she passed away, Alexis and I had been talking about writing an anthem for her,” Derek says. “And then Alexis’ son Wilder was born, and he’s the birthday boy. Even though the title sounds a little ridiculous – and it’s totally okay to laugh at it — with a little bit of context, it’s actually life and death. We lost somebody that we love, and we gained somebody that we love.”
The story of Bunky Becky and Roxette Ric evolves in the swaggering “Wanna Start A Band?,” an irresistible collision of glam metal, stabbing synths, vocal whoops, and in-your-face beats. Just as Derek asked Alexis to start a band 17 years ago, “Wanna Start A Band?” finds the duo’s alter egos — Becky and Roxette — forming their creative partnership. On the rager-ready “Badly,” Sleigh Bells roll out a quintessential barn burner anthem in the vein of Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right” and like minded ‘80s jams. Sleigh Bells seal off the record with “Pulse Drips Quiet,” which experiments with rhythm and tone and reflects the duo’s unshakable bond.
SLEIGH BELLS 2025 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
May 7, 2025 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
May 9, 2025 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory – Constellation Room
May 10, 2025 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
May 13, 2025 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall – Music Hall
May 16, 2025 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
May 17, 2025 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre
May 19, 2025 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
May 21, 2025 – Denver, CO @ Summit
May 23, 2025 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall – Downstairs
May 24, 2025 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
May 25, 2025 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
May 28, 2025 – Tampa, FL @ The RITZ Ybor
May 29, 2025 – Orlando, FL @ Plaza Live
May 30, 2025 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
June 1, 2025 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
June 2, 2025 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
June 3, 2025 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
June 5, 2025 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
June 6, 2025 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
June 7, 2025 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
June 10, 2025 – Toronto, ON @ Axis Club Theatre
June 11, 2025 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
June 12, 2025 – Chicago, IL @ The Metro
June 14, 2025 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
June 15, 2025 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
#sleighbells