You’ve heard it ad nauseam. Boy meets girl — preferably in Brooklyn — they form a band, post their songs on the web, fall into a digital vortex of hysterical hype and finally become the faces that grace every “Next Big Thing” feature. Though the indie world recently saw the demise of one of the 21st century’s most influential duos, The White Stripes, a new revival of indie girl-boy duos are ready to fill the void.

The shadow of The White Stripes looms large since Jack and Meg White together cooked up the perfect template for indie girl-boy duo success with three necessary ingredients: a DIY attitude, a mystery (need not be of the exes-posing-as-siblings variety) and a decent tune. However, can the new batch of girl-on-boy duos, including Cults and Sleigh Bells, live up to the legacy? A couple of contenders from Brooklyn, as diverse in sound as possible, are both playing concerts in North Carolina this spring.

 

Cults

Who: Hailing from the official capital of cool, Brooklyn duo Cults are 21-year-old film students and lovers Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion. Cults deliver a quirky yet melodious modern take on ‘60s pop.

DIY: Not anymore. After releasing just one single, Cults were scooped up by major label Columbia Records. Yet the choice of producer for their first album fell on Shane Stoneback whose indie credentials include working with Vampire Weekend and Sleigh Bells, the latter girl-boy duo rivalling Cults in ludicrous levels of hype.

Mystery factor: XY member of Cults, Madeline Follin, to pitchfork.com: “Nobody has any idea who we are, and everybody is like, “Whoa, what is this? Awesome.”

Decent tune: Cults have only released four songs so far. Check out the prettiest glockenspiel of 2010 and the joyous, contagious chorus on “Go Outside.”

 

Sleigh Bells

Who: Another über-hyped duo of Brooklynites. Sleigh Bells are guitarist Derek E. Miller and singer Alexis Krauss.

DIY: Back in 2009, the duo self-released an eponymous EP. The record quickly garnered a lot of attention particularly from anti-establishment rapper M.I.A. who signed them to her NEET label. Sleigh Bells avoided backlash from indie purists by releasing their full-length debut “Treats” last year on NEET and indie label Mom + Pop.

Mystery factor: Check out the video for “Rill Rill” which features a bleeding telephone, a shrine in a high school locker and singer Krauss throwing duo mate Miller out of a moving car in the middle of the desert. Mysterious indeed.

Decent tune: There is absolutely nothing decent about Sleigh Bells. No other band in recent history has so warranted Parental Advisory as Sleigh Bells despite that Krauss does not use foul or explicit language on “Treats.” However, when the epithet of “noise pop” is applied to Sleigh Bells it should be taken as a warning since “Treats” approaches new levels of volume. “Infinity Guitars” showcases Sleigh Bells’ distinctive mix of massive retro hip-hop beats, heavy abrasive guitars and Krauss’ breathy vocals. Listen with caution.

 

Cults will play at Chapel Hill’s Local 506, March 10 at 9 p.m.

Sleigh Bells will play at Asheville’s Orange Peel, May 4 at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available through etix.com