The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Category Archives: Song of the Day!


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Song of the Day! Young The Giant – Cough Syrup

Young the Giant bring us their special brand of American indie rock from Irvine, California

Young the Giant have absolutely mesmerized me with their 2010/2011 self titled debut album Young the Giant. I can’t help but listen through the album over and over again thinking to myself, “This is what true and creative indie rock sounds like.” It’s hard to find a track on the album that isn’t both majestic and enthralling. At the same time it’s difficult to pick just one track off this spectacular debut to highlight and praise. I’m sure the world is already very familiar with Young the Giants first single My Body, as it has seen endless radio play over the past few months. I could’ve shared my favorite track off the album with you, I Got, but i’m selfish and am keeping it all to myself. So I guess that leaves the steady and soothing track Cough Syrup. With it’s mellow string of chords and wonderfully catchy vocalization, it’s just one of the many songs responsible for my returning again and again to the album. I keep telling myself just one more spoonful of Cough Syrup now, but it can never be just one. It’s probably not healthy to chug a whole bottle of the stuff, but I can’t help myself when it says Young the Giant on the label. Now i’m going to drift off now into a trance like state with a belly full of beautiful indie music courtesy of the best new band of 2011. You can listen to Young the Giant in all it’s entirety on Soundcloud here.

Here’s the music video for Cough Syrup which was released last week.

Head over to Young the Giant’s Facebook page and give them a like. You know they deserve it.


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Song of the Day! Cults – Never Heal Myself

Cults sunny and lo-fi pop comes from California

Ok, so I’m sure everyone is already very familiar with Cults song Go Outside by now, but how about the rest of the album? Cults released their self-titled album Cults earlier this month to a world ready to embrace xylophones and whimsical lo-fi vocals alike. The album carries on all the charm of Go Outside and more with a pretty much flawless track-listing. To highlight just one that stands out I’d have to give praise to the song Never Heal Myself. Again we find ourselves lured in and entranced by a simple percussion line of notes played on the xylophones. This time we get a taste of Cults back up guitars which lay over perfectly on top lead singer Madeline Follin’s delicate vocals. Cults simple throwback indie pop is what makes the band so special in my opinion. No band out there right now posses a sound quite like this (Ignore Best Coast) and for that I salute them. Cults have the summer time feel good indie lo-fi on lockdown and we have no choice but to bite and like.

Head over to Cults Facebook page and give them a like. What reason could you have not to?


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Song of the Day! Barton Fink – If You Know

If you know Barton Fink then you know they formed in Montreal, Canada

Electro-indie-funk-punk. Yes Barton Fink manages to encompass all these genres and more in their guitar and synth laced tunes. If You Know is an other worldly song with an off kilter beat and a warped array of instruments that do so much more then just grab your attention. Then add in that chorus line that sounds like someone forget to take their foot of the distortion pedal and you have a one of a kind memorable mix. While If You Know is featured on Barton Fink’s recent EP titled simply EP, one can only assume that the band is ready to drop another album since their debut Gear was released back in 2009. It would be really exciting if the band did announce plans for a new album since they are one of the most creative sounds I have heard in quite sometime. For now I’m going to back track and dwelve into the funk rock sounds of Gear and get my Barton Fink on!

Like what you hear? Let the band know it! Go to Barton Fink’s Facebook page and give them a like.


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Song of the Day! Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

Capital Cities help us feel safe and sound from LA, California

Houston, we have lift off. This electro pop foot tapper is ready to take you on a trip high into the atmosphere with its swift banger beats and steady stream of flowing synth. Hands down the best part about Safe and Sound would have to be that sexy sexy trumpet. That horn always comes in at the right moment and does wonders to keep this song fresh and a break from the run-of-the-mill indie electro tracks we encounter in today’s music. Capital Cities aren’t your average musical duo either, so don’t past these guys off as just another unknown because they’re building up quite the following, and rather quickly too. They just dropped their debut EP last week self-titled Capital Cities EP and let’s just say Safe and Sound isn’t the only song that will put some swagger in your step. The guys are nice enough to have the whole EP streaming on Soundcloud so go check it out.

Show Capital Cities some love and head over to their Facebook and give em’ a like!


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Song of the Day! Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle

Bombay Bicycle Club shuffle things up from Crouch End, London, England

If someone were to ask me who is my favorite band above all others I would simply reply Bombay Bicycle Club. This little indie rock band from London has stolen my heart since the release of their single How Are You back in 2007. Finaly 2009 saw the release of their debut album I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose which held a place above all other music released that year and to this day has to be the greatest album to ever grace my ears. With perfect singles like Dust On the Ground and Always Like This it was an album impossible not to fall in love with.

So as you can probably already tell I got pretty damn excited when I heard the news that they would be releasing a new album August 29th called A Different Kind Of Fix. The first taste of the their third studio album is their newest single Shuffle. I could not of asked for anything greater from Bombay Bicycle Club because Shuffle is everything one could ask for in a BBC song. Intriguing piano to lure you in and then a swift beat with take off of melodic guitars all topped off with beautiful vocals that just beg you to sing along. Ok, so maybe I’m digging a little deep into the song but it’s really hard not to when your favorite band releases such amazing new material. I haven’t heard such an wonderful single from Bombay Bicycle Club since the release of the song How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep, which was written for the Twilight Saga: Eclipse Official Soundtrack. Yeah I know *bleh* Twilight but the song stands miles away on it’s own from the rest the indie BS on the soundtrack and is a work of musical genius in my highly biased opinion.

A Different Kind Of Fix now tops my list of most anticipated albums yet to be released in 2011 and Shuffle might soon take the spot of most played song in my Itunes due to being played over and over again as I eagerly await their fall release. My only wish is that Bombay Bicycle Club breakthrough in the United States because I’m tired of being the only person I know who is aware of this magical band. Then again if they remain popular solely in the UK I can live with them being Britain’s best kept indie rock secret, and mine.