Sleigh Bells return with new song, spring North American tour

Noise pop fans rejoice: Sleigh Bells has released “Wanna Start A Band?,” their first new single in three years.

The extra crunchy dispatch is actually rooted at the very core of Sleigh Bells. In a statement, singer Alexis Krauss explains both the song’s slow-burn development process and the larger sentimental value for both herself and bandmate Derek E. Miller.

“In 2008 while eating at a restaurant in Brooklyn with my mom, our server, Derek, wasted very little time asking me, essentially, ‘Wanna Start A Band?’ Hard to believe that almost 17 years later we are still hyped and obsessively making records together. Derek started messing with the riff for this song around 2014 – it needed a lot of work but a spark was there. We had a band by then but didn’t know how long it would last. For us, this song is a reminder of how we started but it’s also the first part of a new story we want to tell – more on that very soon!”

Could this mean a new album is on the way? (Sleigh Bells’ latest release was 2021’s “Texis.”) That seems all the more likely considering the other half of the band’s return announcement: a new tour. The 25-date outing kicks off May 7 at Phoenix’s Crescent Ballroom, and runs through mid-June. Tickets are on sale Friday Jan. 31 via Ticketmaster.

The full list of North American tour dates is below. And for more local concert information, visit the Phoenix New Times concert calendar.

May 7, Phoenix, Crescent Ballroom
May 9, Santa Ana, Calif., The Observatory – Constellation Room
May 10, Solana Beach, Calif., Belly Up
May 13, San Francisco, Calif., August Hall – Music Hall
May 16, Portland, Ore. Hawthorne Theatre
May 17, Vancouver, Hollywood Theatre
May 19, Seattle, Neptune Theatre
May 21, Denver, Colo., Summit
May 23, Houston, Texas, White Oak Music Hall – Downstairs
May 24, Dallas, Texas, Granada Theater
May 25, Austin, Texas, Mohawk
May 28, Tampa, Fla., The RITZ Ybor
May 29, Orlando, Fla., Plaza Live
May 30, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Culture Room
June 1, Atlanta, Ga., Terminal West
June 2, Asheville, N.C., The Orange Peel
June 3, Philadelphia, Union Transfer
June 5, Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club
June 6, Boston, Mass., Paradise Rock Club
June 7, New York, N.Y., Webster Hall
June 10, Toronto, Axis Club Theatre
June 11, Detroit, Mich., El Club
June 12, Chicago, Ill., The Metro
June 14, Minneapolis, Minn., Fine Line
June 15, Madison, Wi., Majestic Theatre