Bitter Rivals

Bitter Rivals is the third studio album by American noise pop duo Sleigh Bells. It was released on October 4, 2013 by Mom + Pop Music. The title track was released as the album's lead single on September 3, 2013,[2] with a music video released the day before.[3] The album was made exclusively available for streaming on Rolling Stone's website on October 1, 2013.[4] It was partially inspired by Janet Jackson, with the song "Tiger Kit" referencing Jackson's "Rhythm Nation".[5][6]

Bitter Rivals
Studio album by
Sleigh Bells
ReleasedOctober 4, 2013 (2013-10-04)
RecordedTreefort Studios
(Brooklyn, New York City)[1]
Genre
Length29:26
LabelMom + Pop
Producer
  • Will Hubbard
  • Derek Miller
  • Shane Stoneback
Sleigh Bells chronology
Reign of Terror
(2012)		 Bitter Rivals
(2013)		 Jessica Rabbit
(2016)
Singles from Bitter Rivals
  1. "Bitter Rivals"
    Released: September 3, 2013

Composition

Music and lyrics

Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound described Alexis Kraus' vocals on the record as leaning "heavily" on the "hip-hop cadence" of Sleigh Bells' previous albums "to go along with [Kraus'] inked-up bubblegum melodies". Cosores also described the album's musical styles as nostalgic, featuring "nu metal serving as a warning for pop punk, and freestyle, and whatever else might next resurface".[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The A.V. ClubB[10]
Consequence of SoundD-[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME7/10[14]
Pitchfork5.9/10[15]
PopMatters7/10[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Spin8/10[18]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70 based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound compared the album to nu metal bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Staind, who all had "a similar pattern of three albums into the spotlight, [with] their third being a success in terms of attention, but also a signifier of the end of people caring in quite the same way". Cosores also felt that the album played to Sleigh Bells' strength, but mostly felt "stuck in the weaker aspects of their previous albums, busying up the mercifully brief tracks with unnecessary filler".[7]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Sleigh Bells.

No.TitleLength
1."Bitter Rivals"3:19
2."Sugarcane"2:47
3."Minnie"3:01
4."Sing Like a Wire"2:35
5."Young Legends"2:50
6."Tiger Kit"2:55
7."You Don't Get Me Twice"2:43
8."To Hell With You"3:09
9."24"2:58
10."Love Sick"3:09

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Bitter Rivals.[19]

Sleigh Bells

Additional musicians

  • Kevin Osborne – whistling on "To Hell With You"

Production and recording

  • Chris Athens – mastering
  • Andrew Dawson – mixing, additional production on "Young Legends"
  • Will Hubbard – executive producer
  • Derek E. Miller – production
  • Shane Stoneback – engineering, recording, additional production

Artwork and design

  • Steve Attardo – design, layout
  • Derek Miller – art direction, original photography

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
UK Indie Albums Chart[20] 36
US Billboard 200[21] 49
US Alternative Albums[22] 15
US Independent Albums[23] 9
US Rock Albums[24] 16

Release history
Region Date Format Label
Germany[25] October 4, 2013 Digital download Lucky Number Music
Ireland[26] CD
France[27] October 7, 2013 Digital download
Ireland[28]
United Kingdom[29]
  • CD
  • digital download
United States[30] October 8, 2013
  • CD
  • LP
  • digital download
 Mom + Pop
Australia[31] October 11, 2013
  • CD
  • digital download
 Liberator
United Kingdom[32] October 14, 2013 LP Lucky Number Music
Germany[33] October 18, 2013
  • CD
  • LP
France[34] October 21, 2013 CD
Japan[35] November 27, 2013 Hostess
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References
  1. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (September 12, 2013). "Inside Sleigh Bells' Lean, Mean New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  2. "Bitter Rivals – Single by Sleigh Bells". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  3. Battan, Carrie; Phillips, Amy; Minsker, Evan (September 2, 2013). "Sleigh Bells Announce New Album Bitter Rivals, Share Title Track, Plot Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  4. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (October 1, 2013). "Sleigh Bells Get Positively Loud in 'Bitter Rivals' – Album Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  5. Rudow, Bryce T. (November 19, 2013). "BYT Interviews: Sleigh Bells". Brightest Young Things. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  6. Woods, Mickey (October 8, 2013). "Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells Chats With Glamour About New Album Bitter Rivals and Her Pop-Culture Obsessions". Glamour. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  7. Cosores, Philip (October 8, 2013). "Album Review: Sleigh Bells – Bitter Rivals". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  8. "Reviews for Bitter Rivals by Sleigh Bells". Metacritic. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  9. Phares, Heather. "Bitter Rivals – Sleigh Bells". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  10. Thurm, Eric (October 8, 2013). "Sleigh Bells: Bitter Rivals". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  11. Cosores, Philip (October 8, 2013). "Album Review: Sleigh Bells – Bitter Rivals". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  12. "Albums: October 11, 2013". Entertainment Weekly. October 4, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  13. Costa, Maddy (October 3, 2013). "Sleigh Bells: Bitter Rivals – review". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  14. Levine, Nick (October 7, 2013). "Sleigh Bells – 'Bitter Rivals'". NME. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  15. Zoladz, Lindsay (October 8, 2013). "Sleigh Bells: Bitter Rivals". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  16. Conaton, Chris (October 7, 2013). "Sleigh Bells: Bitter Rivals". PopMatters. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  17. Ganz, Caryn (October 8, 2013). "Sleigh Bells 'Bitter Rivals' Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  18. Aaron, Charles (October 9, 2013). "Sleigh Bells' 'Bitter Rivals' Delivers Candy-Coated Annihilation You Can Believe In". Spin. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  19. Bitter Rivals (Media notes). Sleigh Bells. Mom + Pop Music. 2013. CD booklet. MP118–2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. "2013 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  21. "Sleigh Bells – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  22. "Sleigh Bells – Chart history: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  23. "Sleigh Bells – Chart history: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  24. "Sleigh Bells – Chart history: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  25. "Bitter Rivals by Sleigh Bells". iTunes Store (DE). Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  26. "Sleigh Bells – Bitter Rivals". Tower Records Ireland. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  27. "Bitter Rivals by Sleigh Bells". iTunes Store (FR). Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  28. "Bitter Rivals by Sleigh Bells". iTunes Store (IE). Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  32. "Bitter Rivals [VINYL]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  34. "Bitter rivals – Sleigh Bells" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  35. "Bitter Rivals : Sleigh Bells". HMV Japan. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
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