Album of the Year?: Treats

I don't usually succumb to blog hype. I find it to be almost always unfounded, a silly attempt by people to crown a band before they've earned the throne. "Let me see the full-length before I call myself a fan," I usually say. There is one band, however, that I made an exception for-Sleigh Bells. If you don't know their story, allow me to give you a brief summary. Derek Miller used to be in the hardcore band Poison the Well. He makes the music. Alexis Krauss used to be in a girl pop group. She sings. You can imagine the results. When I first heard them at the beginning of November, 2009, they blew me away. The loud guitars, the crunk-ass beats, the soft, feminine vocals. It was nothing like I (or anyone, I'm pretty sure) ever heard. I drooled over each new track that leaked over the past six months, and even bought tickets to a dumb Diplo show just to see them. The full album, Treats, came out today, and it's tremendous. So many bands release a few promising EPs, only to have their first album suck. Treats delivers, though. It contains many of the songs that have been floating around the internet, like "A/B Machines," "Infinity Guitars," and "Crown on the Ground." The song once known as "Beach Girls" appears now as "Kids," and its T.I.-esque synth line has been replaced with scuzzy guitar. My favorite song by them was always "Ring Ring," and it's called "Rill Rill" now. It's still the same song, but hearing it in high quality beats the hell out of hearing it on their MySpace. This is music to dance to, murder people to, and save the world to. I can't even make out the lyrics, but these jams are so good that they could be about old people farting and I wouldn't care.

This is the best album I've heard this year so far. Their sound is completely original, and Treats will undoubtedly spawn a boatload of imitators.