The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Category Archives: Top 10 Albums of 2011!


by 1 Comment

Top 10 Albums of 2011! #1 A Different Kind of Fix

Bombay Bicycle Club offer us A Different Kind of Fix. I can't seem to get enough.

 Words simply can not describe how much I enjoy A Different Kind of Fix. So I’ll just let the highlights of my favorite album of 2011 do all the talking. 

“How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep” – Bombay Bicycle Club

“Bad Timing” – Bombay Bicycle Club

“Lights Out, Words Gone” – Bombay Bicycle Club

“Shuffle” – Bombay Bicycle Club

Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix (click image to buy album)

  1. “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep”* 3:30
  2. “Bad Timing”* 3:34
  3. “Your Eyes”* 5:21
  4. “Lights Out, Words Gone”* 5:01
  5. “Take The Right One” 3:36
  6. “Shuffle”* 3:54
  7. “Beggars”* 4:12
  8. “Leave It”* 3:54
  9. “Fracture” 4:04
  10. “What You Want”* 4:20
  11. “Favourite Day”* 4:57
  12. “Still” 4:25
  13. “Beg (Bonus track)* 3:52
Notable Tracks*

Open and listen to Bombay Bicycle Club’s A Different Kind Of Fix in Spotify


by Leave a comment

Top 10 Albums of 2011! #2 The English Riviera

Metronomy have turned The English Riviera into a river of melodic dreams.

I can safely say that no band has had a more profound impact on my musical taste this year then the English electropop geniuses of Metronomy. They have given me reason to hold others to higher standards with their incredibly talented electronic music that is just miles above the mainstream. I took one look at The Look, earlier this year, and you better believe that I was absolutely hooked. From there I dug right into the band’s latest album The English Riviera, at that point I became utterly obsessed with it. Such melodies, such rhythm- how moving, how grooving- and above all else emotionally driven by such a wide variety of sounds. It’s just a pleasurable experience to be exposed to the many rich layers Metronomy provides in all their music. You have the breathtaking The Bay, and the daunting and haunting track She Says, or even the surprisingly heart melting Everything Goes My Way. This is the kind of album that I could leave going on repeat in my car for weeks. The English Riviera came close to being my top album of 2011 but will have to settle with a gentleman’s second.

“The Look” – Metronomy

“The Bay” – Metronomy
 

“She Wants” – Metronomy

“Everything Goes My Way” – Metronomy

Metronomy - The English Riviera (click image to buy album)

  1. “The English Riviera” 0:37
  2. “We Broke Free“* 4:05
  3. “Everything Goes My Way”* 3:30
  4. “The Look”* 4:37
  5. “She Wants”* 3:51
  6. “Trouble“* 4:46
  7. “The Bay”* 4:50
  8. “Loving Arm“* 3:31
  9. “Corinne“* 3:16
  10. “Some Written“* 6:03
  11. “Love Underlined“* 5:58
*Notable Tracks

Open and listen to Metronomy’s The English Riviera in Spotify


by 1 Comment

Top 10 Albums of 2011! #3 Torches

Foster The People have set the alternative/indie rock scene ablaze with their infectious album Torches.

Foster The People more then deserve all the praise they have receive this year. It would be criminal if a band with this much talent had gone completely unnoticed. That being said I think we can all agree we’ve heard Pumped Up Kicks one too many times this year. Like chocolate and fine wine, too much of a good thing can really be a bad thing. This is where the band’s debut album Torches comes into play. You can listen to the same rhythmical and catchy indie rock you’ve known (and at one point loved) from Pumped Up Kicks in a wider variety of doses. First track in and we’ve already come across another instant favorite, Helena Beat. You thought you liked singing about running from guns? Just wait till your trying to stop your self from singing about be strapped to a chair all the while wanting to dance along to the h-e-l-e-n-a beat. Foster The People are just beyond anything I’ve come across in a while when it comes to their use of pop elements and dance hooks that sink their teeth into our brains. They can break down barriers and pierce the ears and hearts of those who listen to other genres besides indie rock. Torches may not be me top album of 2011 but I would say being my number 3 album of the year is pretty high up there when one thinks about all the other damn good music 2011 produced.

“Helena Beat” – Foster The People

“Houdini” – Foster The People

“Pumped Up Kicks” – Foster The People

Foster The People - Torches (click image to buy album)

  1. “Helena Beat”* 4:36
  2. “Pumped Up Kicks“* 4:00
  3. “Call It What You Want“* 4:01
  4. “Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)“* 2:56
  5. “Waste“* 3:26
  6. “I Would Do Anything for You“* 3:35
  7. “Houdini”*  3:23
  8. “Life on the Nickel“*  3:36
  9. “Miss You“*  3:36
  10. “Warrant“*  5:23
*Notable Tracks (All of them.)

Open and listen to Foster The People’s Torches in Spotify


by 1 Comment

Top 10 Albums of 2011! #4 Velociraptor!

Kasabian has done it again with the alternative rock powerhouse of an album; Velociraptor!.

I’ve always been very perplexed with the band Kasabian’s popularity in the states. Here’s a band that simply knows how to play rock n’ roll. Never mind the fact that they’re from Britain, or that they’re landscapers of the alternative scene there, these guys just need to be acknowledged for their creative and talented approach to rocking out. I’m left to assume that the states simply can’t handle the ferocious beast that is Velociraptor!. Their fourth album is a very solid addition to their already amazing discography. Track for track, this might be the most complete album so far. I mean, seriously, these guys crammed so many great tracks into this one album they actually had to put out some amazing b-sides early. This was definitely an album I had no second guesses about ordering online and has seen many spins in my car this year. Kasabain’s other albums may still hold a special place in my heart (Because they’re f***ing awesome), but Velociraptor! is sure as sunrise going to be a CD future me is going to play a lot.

“Switchblade Smiles” – Kasabian

Switchblade Smiles is the only song Kasabian is allowing to be shared on Soundcloud. Not that I don’t really enjoy this song I just strongly believe that Velociraptor! has so many stronger tracks to offer. Yet this is still the same signature scatterbrained alternative rock I would so easily associate with the band, and enjoy hearing from them. New comers might not fare as well with this particular track. Feel free to browse the Youtube links below for a greater variety of choices. Might I suggest one of my favorites Let’s Roll Like We Used To as a starting point.

Kasabian - Velociraptor! (click image to buy album)

  1. “Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To“* 4:47
  2. “Days Are Forgotten“* 5:02
  3. “Goodbye Kiss“* 4:04
  4. “La Fée Verte“* 5:47
  5. “Velociraptor!“* 2:51
  6. “Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter From the Storm)” 6:01
  7. “I Hear Voices“* 3:58
  8. “Re-Wired“* 4:44
  9. “Man of Simple Pleasures” 3:51
  10. “Switchblade Smiles”* 4:13
  11. “Neon Noon” 5:20
*Notable Tracks

Open and listen to Kasabian’s Velociraptor! in Spotify


by Leave a comment

Top 10 Albums of 2011! #5 Blood Pressures

Blood Pressures are sure to rise when listening to The Kills' moody brand of rock.

Gush, gush, gush- that’s me whenever I listen to Blood Pressures. The Kills are just that amazing at conveying heartfelt relatable emotions through their music. Edgy, sexy, strict, simple, dirty, sensual, fun, etc. I could really go all day with adjectives that describe the massive and encompassing sound The Kills bring us this time around with their fourth album. There is one word that I can easily omit from my description of Blood Pressures and that is disappointment. Getting my first taste of Satellite at the beginning of the year got me so hype for this album, along with the bar being set so damn from their previous album Midnight Boom. Not only did they met the high standards they set for themselves, but I’m pretty sure they soared past them. In 2011, Blood Pressures was my go to album for a healthy form a musical release from the world’s many stresses, because this album was a sure fire guarantee of making me feel fucking great. So have a listen and feel… well fucking great!

“Baby Says” – The Kills

“Heart Is A Beating Drum” – The Kills

The Kills - Blood Pressures (click image to buy album)

  1. “Future Starts Slow“* 4:05
  2. “Satellite”* 4:14
  3. “Heart Is a Beating Drum”* 4:20
  4. “Nail in My Coffin”* 3:32
  5. “Wild Charms” 1:14
  6. “DNA”* 4:32
  7. “Baby Says”* 4:28
  8. “The Last Goodbye” 3:41
  9. “Damned If She Do”* 3:52
  10. “You Don’t Own the Road”* 3:22
  11. “Pots and Pans”* 4:35
*Notable Tracks

Open and listen to The Kills’s Blood Pressures in Spotify