Sleigh Bells – comprised of producer/guitarist Derek Miller and singer Alexis Krauss – are thrilled to announce their sixth album, Texis, set for release on September 10, 2021 on Mom + Pop Music. A new track from the album, entitled “Justine Go Genesis,” has been released today. “Justine Go Genesis” was one of the first songs written for Texis; Miller sent an early demo of the song to Krauss in 2018, feeling excited about its ultra-fast tempo but slightly self-conscious about his cartoonish, over-the-top metal riff. Krauss clicked with the music right away and wrote her bright, unabashedly poppy melody within a few hours of receiving the track, resulting in a song that sounds like the unexpected intersection of Metallica, Spice Girls, and ‘90s drum and bass.
The video for the track, shot on 16mm film and directed by Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell, Queen of Earth, Golden Exits) and Derek Miller with Cinematography by Sean Price Williams (Good Time, …Heaven Knows What), picks up where the band’s video for Texis single “Locust Laced” left off, referencing early 80’s horror films, The Twilight Zone, the band’s own incredible live show, and more. This is the band’s second collaboration with Perry and Williams, who previously worked on the video for “I Can Only Stare”.
Sleigh Bells – comprised of producer/guitarist Derek Miller and singer Alexis Krauss – are thrilled to announce their sixth album, Texis, set for release on September 10, 2021 on Mom + Pop Music. The first single from the record “Locust Laced” — a classic slice of Sleigh Bells’ signature controlled chaos that has made them one of the most exciting bands of the last decade — can be heard now. A video for the song, directed by Miller and Kills Birds’ Nina Ljeti, can be seen now as well. The visual features Krauss as a classic country starlet come undone, a perfect complement to the song’s one-two punch of raucous guitar lines and Krauss’s high-octane, anthemic, shout-along chorus.
Their new album, Texis, is the sound of the duo letting go of hang-ups and inhibitions and allowing themselves to embrace the sort of loud, colorful, genre-melting music only they could make. “We stopped worrying about whether or not we’re in or out of our comfort zone, or if we were being repetitive or formulaic,” says Derek Miller. After pushing themselves to sound less obviously “Sleigh Bells” on their 2017 EP Kid Kruschev, he found he’d started to reject a lot of his best creative impulses. On Texis, the duo decided to simply push the first domino and see what would happen, chasing down whatever excitement and inspiration followed; the resulting album is pure fireworks, full of the best songs Sleigh Bells have ever written and recorded.
One of the band’s goals in writing Texis was to infuse even the most abrasive and full-blast songs with something that made the music feel “nourishing” to them. “The thing I’m most attracted to is the juxtaposition of happy and sad, melancholy and hope,” says Miller. “A lot of this is about trying to hold on to a shred of optimism through sheer force of will, and I hope this music can give people some joyful energy and confidence.”
Sleigh Bells will be touring in Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 in support of Texis; Kills Birds will be opening on the Fall dates. Track listing and tour dates are below.
Sleigh Bells tour dates:
2021 —
10/5 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
10/6 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry
10/8 – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
10/9 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground
10/10 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage Theater
10/12 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
10/13 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
10/15 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10/17 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
10/18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
10/20 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
10/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
10/23 – Oakland, CA – The New Parish
10/26 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
10/27 – Vancouver, BC – Venue Nightclub
10/28 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
2022 —
2/8 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
2/9 – Cincinnati, OH – The Ballroom at Taft Theatre
Spin Magazine