Sleigh Bells back, baby! The New York noise-poppers have made a whole lot of fun an energetic songs over the years, and I think they're about due for a comeback. There are parts of Brat that sound like Sleigh Bells, you know? Sleigh Bells about to give it a shot, anyway. Last month, the duo dropped "Wanna Start A Band?," their first new song in a few years. Now, they're announcing a new album, and it's got a perfectly ridiculous title.
In April, Sleigh Bells will release Bunky Becky Birthday Boy, their follow-up to 2021's Texis. The new LP's title is fun to say out loud, and it looks goofy as hell, but Derek Miller says that there's serious emotion behind it:
"Bunky Becky" was a nickname for Alexis’ dog Riz, who passed away in December 2023. When she passed away, Alexis and I had been talking about writing an anthem for her. And then Alexis’ son Wilder was born, and he’s the birthday boy. Even though the title sounds a little ridiculous -- and it’s totally okay to laugh at it -- with a little bit of context, it's actually life and death. We lost somebody that we love, and we gained somebody that we love.
"Wanna Start A Band?" is on Bunky Becky Birthday Boy, and so is the new single "Bunky Pop." It's a giddy, charged-up, fun-as-hell rager, and it employs what I can only call "Hollaback Girl" blastbeats. It sounds like a Sleigh Bells song, in all the best ways. Derek Miller explains that it's a song about a happy dog, which tracks:
We wanted the track to sound like a dog having the best moment of her life without any of the burden of self-consciousness. "Bunky Pop" informed the entire record, and Bunky Becky kind of became a character woven into every song. We wanted to give her a friend, Roxette Ric, so we could play with a little bit of autobiography and fiction as well.
Derek Miller co-directed the "Bunky Pop" video with Pavements filmmaker Alex Ross Perry, and it stars Dylan Gelula, from Smile 2 and Shithouse, as a real asshole. Below, check out that video and the BBBB tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Bunky Pop"
02 "Wanna Start A Band?"
03 "Life Was Real"
04 "Roxette Ric"
05 "This Summer"
06 "Can I Scream"
07 "Badly"
08 "Blasted Shadow"
09 "Real Special Cool Thing"
10 "Hi Someday"
11 "Pulse Drips Quiet"
Bunky Becky Birthday Boy is out 4/4 on Mom + Pop.
