Point A Gun At The Mirror

Sleigh Bells “Bitter Rivals”

I love the way so many Sleigh Bells songs have this strange tonal clash between this aggressive optimistic force and a strong current of depressive self-loathing. It’s like two sides of a mind at war with each other, but the positive, assertive side always wins. “Bitter Rivals” sounds like Derek and Alexis blasting out the lingering bad vibes from the Reign of Terror era through sheer force of will. The song is very forceful, but it’s not nearly as LOUD as their older songs. But the vocals are much higher up in the mix, and I think that’s thematically important: The main thing you get out of this song is the two of them shouting down defeatist feelings – “BE NOT AFRAID, BE NOT AFRAID, BE NOT!” The chorus is like an uneasy truce between the positive and negative sides of the mind: “You are my bitter rival, but I need you for survival.”

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