Sleigh Bells Return With Raucous Comeback Single "Wanna Start A Band?"

Nobody’s doing it like Sleigh Bells. It was true when the genre-jumping duo first broke through back in 2010, and it’s still true 15 years later. The proof is in their new comeback single, the chaotically catchy “Wanna Start A Band?”

The new song, which dropped on Jan. 28, is the band’s first release since 2021’s Texis, and their first single in six years. “Wanna Start A Band” sees Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller in peak form, as they dissect the oftentimes complicated dynamics of managing a friendship and professional relationship with the same person. Over a wall of overpowering guitars, Krauss belts out the confrontational chorus:

Go call another witness / This is personal and not business / Shut up and let me finish / It’s personal and not business

“Wanna Start A Band?” has the same idiosyncratic production that first put Sleigh Bells on the map, mixing classic hard-rocking guitar chords with almost alien-sounding synth breaks, keeping the listener constantly on their toes as the tone rapidly shifts without warning.

Mirroring the ever-changing production, the track’s lyrics are a full mood swing. In between aggressive choruses, Krauss sweetly recalls fond memories from the past. Once the song’s title first shows up later in the lyrics, the message is changed. No longer a scream, the last chorus ends with Krauss asking to start a band, having reminisced fondly on first forming a music group.

The mix of acid and sugar was a integral part of what made Sleigh Bells’ 2010 debut album Treats such a success. And from the sound of “Wanna Start A Band,” they’ve still got that magical chemistry to continually surprise their fans, and keep them clicking that replay button.