Gently Enticing

There are some occasions these days when I write about a song that I love for Pitchfork track reviews instead of this site. In case you do not follow my work over there, you really ought to pay attention to these songs, as they are both absolutely brilliant. These are only pull-quotes, by the way — click through to Pitchfork for the full reviews.

Sleigh Bells “Crown on the Ground”

It’s like the final world-shattering salvo of the Loudness War; a deeply unsubtle scrape of metal-on-metal tones so abrasive that it’s almost shocking to discover that the song isn’t actually some kind of Wolf Eyes-inspired noise experiment, but rather a ridiculously poppy club banger. (More)

Visit the Sleigh Bells MySpace page.)

Frida Hyvönen “Jesus Was A Cross Maker”

Whereas Sill backed away from sentimentality in favor of a cool precision, Hyvönen’s take is devastatingly emotional, with much of its power coming from the contrast of her confident voice and the fragility of her accompaniment. (More)

Buy it from Amazon.