Anyone who is keeping track of the best albums of 2008 would be smart to set aside some room for Santogold.

Her self-titled debut might just be a perfect album.

OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but this album is damn close to perfection, at least in the arena of dub/new wave-influenced electro-rock concoctions. Santogold, a.k.a. Santi White, presents an album that may not be as groundbreaking as hip-hop innovator M.I.A.'s work -- a comparison that will exist no matter how unfortunate -- but it certainly holds a place as being one of the more exceptional albums of the year.

As mentioned, this is White's debut album, but at 32 she has more experience than any typical up-and-comer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, White worked as an A&R representative at Epic records, wrote and produced R&B singer Res' debut album and fronted Philadelphia-based rock/ska band Stiffed.

This debut album is a long time coming for White, and the final product shows what a little hard work can accomplish.

With that said, something strange happened after I listened to the album's second track, "You'll Find a Way." Once the song concluded, I immediately played it again. And then again. And again.

Clocking in at three minutes, this song is so good that it's actually disappointing to hear it end. It sounds ridiculous, yes, but it's true. This monster hits you like a 2-ton wrecking ball disguised as a football.

In this song, White blends an '80s new wave groove with subtle reggae-like guitar stabs. But once the powerful refrain hits, we're immediately transported to an urgent soundscape comparable to Bloc Party's debut, Silent Alarm.

White's vocals in this song are at their strongest, as well. There is a primal element to her voice when she yells out during the refrain, "Don't fear your call / Can't pull us under / You better watch out / Run for cover."

There are other songs on this album that contain this same new-wave/alternative feel, including the opening track, "L.E.S Artistes," which also serves as the single for the record. The songs feature guitars that take on different roles: There's the punk noodling on "Say Aha," the dirty tones on "You'll Find a Way," and the quiet melodies, like that of "L.E.S Artistes" which add the most subtle of nuances to the musical texture.

But there is a different side to this album that relies more on electronics than instrumentation. Songs like "Starstruck" and "Creator" feature interesting samples and production that would impress even the most traditional audio engineers. White and her producer friends create electronic landscapes that are the equivalent of a big urban city at its busiest. There is so much going on that you won't notice until your third or fourth spins.

Then there's the song "I'm a Lady," which throws quite the curve ball. Instead of dub mixed with new wave or electro-dance, this is a song that sounds more like Yeah Yeah Yeahs mixed with the Noisettes. White successfully merges indie rock into her repertoire without the song sounding out of place.

And that's one of Santogold's strong points: she can successfully take all these ingredients and create something that is fresh without copying someone else's style.

She's going to have to deal with comparisons to M.I.A., who seems to have taken the status as the only person to do something creative with hip-hop/electronic music.

The difference here is that Santogold prefers convention over straying too far off of her musical map.

But this isn't to say that White is producing music that is stale. On the contrary, with this album, White has proven that she is skilled in the craft of producing club hits while maintaining her artistic creativity and validity. Sure, this album won't make you go "Holy shit!" like M.I.A.'s Kala may have, but Santogold's debut is impressive in its own right and should be regarded as such.

Grade: A-