At this point it feels more than a little patronizing to commend what is ostensibly not a hip hop album for using elements of hip hop properly. So, when I say that Treats, the debut album for Brooklyn-based noise pop outfit Sleigh Bells, is a pretty amazing and surprising fusion of hip hop and speaker-buzzing guitar I mean it as a comment with a caveat. Treats doesn't just use elements of hip hop, it uses some particularly egregious elements that have been woefully misused in some of the worst, or at least most artistically bankrupt, hip hop of the past ten years.

I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that styles like crunk are never going to be good for anything except for mindless parties. So, when some Lil John-esque rhythms popped up on "Kids", the second track on Treats, I started to get worried. The opening song and Sleigh Bells debut single "Tell 'Em" is, all told, more representative of the band's sound as a whole, but "Kids" holds up fairly well once you recalibrate your ears to hear something a lot smarter and deeper than the likes of "Get Low". It also helps that "Kids" is more or less a lead-in for "Riot Rhythm", the first real knock-out track of the album.

Really, "Tell 'Em" and "Kids" are the two halves of the sound Sleigh Bells tries to and mostly succeeds in pulling off. This, listeners, is what the fusion of rap and rock should sound like in 2010. "Infinite Guitars" is especially stunning, mixing a thumping beat with Derek E. Miller's heavily distorted strings and girl group survivor Alexis Krauss's dynamic vocals. Krauss spends the entire album jumping between the inherent prettiness of a well-trained voice and a tough but not posturing shout. The waves of noise and pumped-up bass often threaten to swallow her whole, but stop just shy.

I'd say that the only real weak moment on Treats is "Rachel". It starts off promising but it never really goes anywhere. The stuttering high-bass becomes annoying quickly, making this considerably short track feel like it goes on forever. On the other hand, the following track "Rill Rill" is a high point. It's a summery hangout song that sounds like a four-minute chorus to a chill rap. It's ironically fitting that Sleigh Bells are on M.I.A.'s record label because "Rill Rill" is exactly the kind of song M.I.A. has been trying to record for years.

The last leg of Treats is relentless and loud, stringing together the pulsing "Crown on the Ground", the hardcore "Straight A's" and the fun but heavy "A/B Machines". The closing track, "Treats" would be heavy metal if it weren't for Alexis Krauss's angelic vocals and the bits of synthesizer sprinkled throughout.

Treats is a love it or hate it album. If you don't like noise and a healthy helping of hip hop, it'll be a half hour of pain with little reprieve, but for everyone else it's the unmistakable sound of something fresh and exciting.