With a backstory that includes gas-station hooking and heroin addiction, Michigan electro-extremists Salem are spooky straightaway. Then their quicksand sound sucks you down: The trio's debut is a cesspool of New Wave synths, goth-shoegaze moans, slow-mo raps and the sort of new-school blown-speaker beats that have recently infiltrated car commercials (go, Sleigh Bells!). What endorsement deals Salem might warrant isn't quite clear: "Sick" pours syrup raps over a chorus that sounds like witches chanting "six-six-six," and the title track employs a version of the Christmas fave "O Holy Night" to conjure Yuletide carolers being boiled in oil. A stocking stuffer for that kid in the trench coat.

“The Pretender”

This song wasn't part of the planned track listing for 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, and was put together in a day. "It happened after we recorded a lot of stuff," said Dave Grohl. Yet it ended up as the album opener and the lead single. Grohl called it "a stomping Foo Fighters uptempo song with a little bit of Chuck Berry in it." The singer hinted at the lyrics' political overtones: "Everyone's been f---ed over before and I think a lot of people feel f---ed over right now and they're not getting what they were promised."