Sleigh Bells

In episode 119, I catch up with Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, the noise pop duo better known as ⁠Sleigh Bells⁠. I have been a massive Sleigh Bells fan since their first few singles back in 2009 — brash, genre-defying bangers like “Crown on the Ground” and “Infinity Guitars” that sounded unlike anything else, combining elements of pop, metal, hardcore, hip-hop and punk. They’ve continued to blow my mind with the leaps they’ve made since then. 

The three of us are also old friends at this point, and though we’ve done shorter interviews in the past, it was great to finally get to ask them some of the classic LSQ podcast questions about all the shit they were into as kids. In this episode, Alexis talks about what she learned from her experience in a teen pop band, revelations she had at the punk and hardcore shows she frequented during her New Jersey youth, and learning to integrate the diverse parts of her musical voice.

Derek describes falling in love with the soundtrack to La Bamba as a kid growing up in Florida, and then discovering 80s pop greats like Janet Jackson and Cyndi Lauper before venturing into alternative and hard rock (Nirvana, Silverchair) and then having his mind blown by ground-breaking artists such as Radiohead and Björk, and then eventually joining metal core band Poison The Well in his later teens. They also share the story of how they came together to form Sleigh Bells, and how their current approach builds on the foundational principles they established for the band more than fifteen years ago.

Sleigh Bells’ new sixth studio album, Bunky Becky Birthday Boy, comes out this week and it’s stellar. Find out more (and get tickets for their upcoming tour) at:⁠ tornclean.com⁠

Arlo Parks – LSQ

“I just remember being fascinated by language, it felt like this treasure I was discovering,” says Arlo Parks, of her childhood affinity with words. “I remember being obsessed with the word ‘pebble,’ and the sense of different shapes. Maybe it’s because I learned French before English, so my approach to the English language was quite, like, seeking and grasping and understanding as I went along. But the dictionary, I remember being obsessed with it.” If you’ve been a fan of Arlo Parks’ music over the course of her three beautiful albums, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to learn that the British singer-songwriter has been obsessed with words since childhood. In episode 137, she shares more about her early life explorations of poetry and song craft, memories of hearing Otis Redding from the backseat of her father’s car, discovering Miles Davis and Prince in her uncle’s vinyl collection, downloading Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs onto her iPod, trying to play all of Elliott Smith’s XO on guitar, and eventually beginning to make her own music near the end of high school. We also discuss her approach to her wonderful new album, Ambiguous Desire, and how going out to dance clubs and DJ nights brought new inspiration. And I especially loved that Arlo came over to my little LA bungalow to do this interview in person! Get tickets for her upcoming shows here. 

1. Arlo Parks 36:49
2. Snail Mail – Lindsey Jordan 42:37
3. Iron & Wine – Sam Beam 30:03
4. Dry Cleaning 51:56
5. Sudan Archives 26:27