New York noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells, consisting of singer Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek E. Miller, came to the Fine Line venue in Minneapolis Saturday, bringing chaotically confident energy to the tailend of their 2025 North American tour. I’ve personally been a fan of the band since first hearing their 2010 album Treats, making the performance the perfect antidote for the uncharacteristically overcast summer day. Any reluctance to the positivity that lay ahead was immediately dissolved by the opening act of Brooklyn alt-pop rapper Sophie Hunter, who began rapping with relentless, passionate energy the instant the screen raised to begin the show. I absolutely adored Hunter’s performance. Her rap verses, delivered by her undeniable Brooklyn accent, flanked by choruses showing off her jazzier singing ability, were complimented by her witty personality and humor throughout the set.

Hunter performed a number of singles, and tracks from her extended play WAIL!, starting with ‘Cha Cha', which she gleefully explained to the audience was a song about her involuntary hospitalization. She carried herself throughout the set with an unabashed boldness that reminded the audience she offered more than just warming up for the headlining act. Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Nathan Dies accompanied Hunter on stage, adding crunchier guitar tones to her songs to compliment the styles of Sleigh Bells’ following performance. After a now personal favorite track of hers, ‘I Am The Problem', Hunter finished off her set with the cheekily brazen ‘CVNT’, where she instructed the audience to chant the word with her throughout the chorus. Despite being a relatively newer artist, without the same prestige as a longer-established act, Hunter delivered a striking start to the unrestrained thrill of the rest of the show. I’d personally say her performance also served as a nice tribute to an energy of Pride Month I felt was a bit missing this year.

Being the main act of the night, to an audience that appeared even more densely packed than when the show began, Sleigh Bells started off their set with uniquely defiant, spunky energy. Alexis Krauss jumped on stage, headbanging to an old-timey 60’s doo-wop song before slamming the audience into the fiere rock anthem of ‘Wanna Start A Band?’ The song is the second track off their most recent album – or newest “baby” as Krauss put it – Bunky Becky Birthday Boy, released April this year. The album blends the group's noisy punk-rock sound with quirkier synth stylings, which made for a perfectly dynamic introduction to the rest of the night’s material. They didn’t soley play tracks to support the newest release however, as they followed up with the fan-favorite ‘Infinity Guitars’ off Treats. The whole audience followed every step of the bubbly-yet-explosive rhythm during such an integral song in their catalogue. I, with the group next to me, became increasingly giddy as we unapologetically bounced around to even more tracks from their infectiously noisy, signature debut project.

We screamed along to ‘Kids’, ‘A/B Machines', and ‘Riot Rhythm’, the final of which was interrupted by their audio system mistakenly playing the instrumental for ‘Bunky Pop’ at the end. Although this didn’t detract from the flow of the performance for long, as Krauss triumphantly

finished the song acapella. Even with my unbridled admiration for the debut record, I also like to go a bit deeper into a band’s catalogue than some, so I especially appreciated their later performance of ‘I Can Only Stare’ off their 2016 album Jessica Rabbit. The lights flashed along with sharp, authoritative tracks like ‘Bitter Rivals’, demanding further participation from an already energized crowd.

As the lead singer of the group, Krauss did an incredible job on – and off – stage. Even after performing 24 previous concerts on tour, Krauss sustained her adrenaline to perform electrically relentless pop-punk hits, while jumping offstage multiple times to wade through concert goers as she performed.

Krauss took a break to give shout outs to Minneapolis' public libraries, as well as Miller and the backing band consisting of keyboardist Kate Steinberg and the drummer referred to only as “Billy purple shirt.” After more tracks from the new project such as the nostalgic, uplifting ‘This Summer’, the show seemed to wrap up with one more classic Treats track: ‘Rill Rill'. The song is a much slower and comforting track, leading to a sentimental ending of the show where Krauss hugged an audience member before leaving the stage. Though, the band came back for a brief encore. After performing ‘Pulse Drips Quiet', Krauss referenced then-ongoing No Kings protests across the United States leading into the rebellious ‘Crown on the Ground’ to end the night. The show was an excellent display of both Krauss’ and Miller’s talent as performers and unflinching, enthusiastic energy the duo is known for. While embracing older, fan-favorite, tracks, they certainly gave their new material just as much passion to warrant consistent admiration from the audience. After performing for over 17 years, Sleigh Bells committed to bringing the impressive eagerness needed to perform such confidently raucous material. I can’t remember a time I let myself loose with such sincerity in public, and my ears continue to warmly ring as I write this review.

Show Review: Zach Lebowitz