The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: 2011


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Song of the Day! Portugal. The Man – Got It All (This Can’t Be Living)

Portugal. The Man have really Got It All in Portland, Oregon

Portugal. The Man are one of the most creative and talented indie rock bands in the western hemisphere. Their experimental art rock is only seconded by the band’s elaborate and mind-bending album artwork that would be impossible to describe in words. Having put out five albums since 2006, that’s at least one a year, and countless EPs these guys are one of the hardest working bands you’ll come across in the indie music scene. Portugal. The Man never cease to deliver and with 2011 we find ourselves on the brink of their sixth album In the Mountain, In the Cloud which is slated for a July 19th release. The first single from the sixth LP Got It All (This Can’t Be Living) captures Portugal. The Man’s sound brilliantly and really helps to build excitement for the new album. I have no doubt in my mind that In the Mountain, In the Cloud will live up to its high expectations because the past has always shown that Portugal. The Moon can pull it off. Take for example the band’s release of their fifth album The American Ghetto last year. The album was hyped to no end and when it finally went public the band pulled off one the best albums of 2010.

Oh, and their was absolutely no way I could do blog posting on Portugal. The Man without including one of my favorite tracks of 2010, the groovy as hell and laid back track The Dead Dog.

Portugal. The Man – The Dead Dog


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Song of the Day! Company of Thieves – Queen of Hearts

Company of Thieves pull out a queen of hearts from Chicago

You better believe the high level of excitement I felt when I discovered that Company of Thieves released a new album last month. I really did love their 2009 release of Ordinary Riches, but primarily for the tunes Oscar Wilde, Pressure, and my personal favorite The Tornado Song. Well, here we are two years after the band’s initial success and they release their sophomore LP Running from a Gamble to world that one can only hope is ready for band with this much passion. Yes, passion. The stuff that is oozing out of Company of Thieves and their lead singer Genevieve Schatz’s mouth. She can command a room so easily with the wide and powerful range of her voice. It layers so damn well on the band’s steady stream of true rock influenced guitars, as is evident by one of their newest songs Queen of Hearts. You can also hear the constant piano on track that is present very much throughout their debut and also latest album. Occasionally the band ditches the guitars completely for the piano, but only for their most somber of tracks. Guitar, piano, and all passion aside- Company of Thieves have a lot more going for them then most alternative rock bands in todays over saturated music market and they deserve some major support for a sound as big as they possess.


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Song of the Day! Elephanz – Stereo

Elephanz should be blasting through your stereo from Nantes, France

Elephanz honestly could not have picked a better name for themselves. They have an indie pop sound that’s as a big as an elephant and the perfect replacement of the letter ‘t’ with a ‘z’ so you can pronounce it like they the do in their home country of France. This French four-piece really makes a great first impression on me with their song Stereo. Right out of the gate this one grabs ahold with its wide and catchy array of sounds. I think Elephanz has done something very correct here and should defiantly keep at the game. If the band ever puts out a full debut I’d truly love to give it a listen. So far the band has only released a five track EP called Ideal Roomates and two new singles. One of those singles is Stereo and the other being a new version of their old song Do You Like My Song?. I’ll be nice enough to tell you to take a deep breath before listening to Do You Like My Song as the contents are rather intense.

Head on over to Elephanz Facebook page and give them a like and a listen!

 


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Song of the Day! Cut Off Your Hands – You Should Do Better

Cut Off Your Hands, New Zealand based Indie Rock band, are back making music after a three year absence.

Cut Off Your Hands are still the amazing indie rockers I remember them being back in 2007. But now it’s 2011 and we’re on the brink of the bands newest LP Hollows which, so far, sounds very promising. The song You Should Do Better is the first single off of Hollows and I can tell just from this track the LP will be something big. You can just hear the artistic passion surging out from this wonderful new song. This song is leaving me with some very big exceptions for the upcoming album, but its not like i’d expect anything less then great from a band who has delivered so well in the past.

You can hear how the band has made some changes and strides from their 2008 debut album You & I. Just listen to the wonderful track Still Fond off their debut to hear what has happened in the course of three years and also just to know how amazing these guys were for their time. The song remains one of those great indie rock tracks from when I was still being influenced heavily in alternative music.

Cut Off Your Hands – Still Fond


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Song of the Day! Darwin Deez – Radar Detector

Darwin Deez is detected on my radar from New York City

Music Video: Darwin Deez – Radar Detector

The vibrent and lively indie pop of American indie band Darwin Deez has been a long time coming to The Sifting Pan. Well you see, Radar Detector was my summer jam of 2010 so I guess its only natural for me to revisit this amazing song to share with you all for the summer of 2011. Radar Detector is a track that just seems to have everything in the right place at the right time and I really couldn’t of gone any farther into the year with out sharing this personal favorite of mine. Pretty much perfect borderline spoken word lyrics, but still enough vocal variation to be considered singing, and that fast and never ceasing percussion put this song into a league of its own. This nothing short of amazing factor continues on into the band’s self titled debut LP Darwin Deez. I suggest you give Darwin Deez a chance and the band’s other singles a listen, like his cosmic hit Constellations or the surprisingly happy Bad Day. I’d also like to note that even though Darwin Deez is an American indie band they’ve found much of their success in the UK. They released their debut LP in the UK in May of 2010, but did not put it out in the US until February of 2011. This kind of boogles my brain because Darwin Deez have the perfect sound to blow up in the modern American indie world, yet somehow still remain hidden in plain sight.