Sleigh Bells’ sophomore effort starts in the most ridiculous manner possible.

‘True Shred Guitar’ is a faux-live recording of the band’s Persephone-on-Bud-Light-frontwoman Alexis Strauss begging a fictional crowd to get their hands up and the like. In other hands it could have been cringeworthy; here it’s an apt re-introduction.

Sleigh Bells’ trump card is their live show, a sweat and saliva fuelled maelstrom: when the first chords of stand-out hit ‘Crown on the Ground’ ring out across the pit, you wonder whether you’ll make it through the next three minutes alive.

Distilling this disorder into an LP is a challenge, but the band’s debut LP Treats managed to convert their chaos into one of the best noise-pop records ever released. The follow-up was always going to be a struggle, perhaps an inevitability the band accepted in naming the lead-out single ‘Born to Lose,’ and unfortunately Reign of Terror fails to live up to expectations.

Treats had some undeniably repetitive tracks, but it was never monotonous like the ceaseless guitar pummelling on ‘Road to Hell.’ Similarly, the oppressive ‘You Lost Me’ never has the decency to get to an explosive finale despite constant teasing.

 On the plus side, the punkish single ‘Comeback Kid’ is mildly galvanising but the album’s highlight is ‘End of the Line’ – the band’s Cocteau Twins style attempt at a ballad. Despite the breathy vocals poured over its breezy exterior and syrupy riff, the track is lyrically the darkest they have ever ventured and a definite career highlight.

Other than this brief respite, the directionless Reign of Terror tries to take the band’s sound somewhere bigger and heavier, but loses what made them a breath of fresh air in the first place. A well-intentioned disappointment.