Straight outta Hollywood: A starving musician is working in a restaurant, hoping to one day find his vocal muse, when in walks a shy but talented songstress lunching with her mother. The musician chats them up, and eventually, the girl's mother volunteers her daughter to sing with the charming young man. They form a band and live happy, quirky lives in Brooklyn. So goes the story of noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells. Drawing on a background in the post-hardcore scene, guitarist Derek Miller crafts reverb-heavy, fuzzed-out dance beats that waver beneath Alexis Krauss' dreamy vocals. The result is a blasting, occasionally catchy sound that has captured the attention of some influential critics as well as M.I.A., who released the band's debut, Treats, on her N.E.E.T. label. Also on the bill is Neon Indian, a bedroom-pop outfit whose blurry take on electronic music fits snugly into the micro-genre that folks call "chillwave."
