One thing that keeps coming up in the extensive conversation about M.I.A.’s Suicide-sampling “Born Free” is mention of Sleigh Bells, the young Brooklyn band who M.I.A. scooped up for her N.E.E.T. label last fall, and whose boundless energy seems to have channeled directly into Maya’s own work.

“Tell ‘Em” is the first track we’re hearing off Sleigh Bell’s forthcoming Treats album, and it’s quite a few steps beyond the overdriven crunch of their home-demos that have circulated thus far (and scored them a spot in our 25! Now digital issue). That’s not to say the duo of Derek Miller and Alexis Kraus have lost any of their moxy. It’s just that the vocals are quite a bit sweeter, which actually plays well against the duel guitar and jackhammer percussion that surrounds it.

[audio:http://www.urb.com/files/2010/04/01-Tell-Em.mp3|titles=01 Tell 'Em]
Sleigh Bells – Tell ‘Em (download)