The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: Alternative


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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! Kaiser Chiefs – Little Shocks

Kaiser Chiefs give us Little Shocks from their hometown of Leeds

EDIT: Seems the Kaiser Chiefs have pulled down Little Shocks from Soundcloud. You can still scroll down and check out the video though.

You know what’s more then a little shock? The fact that this band just released the new song and video overnight. Without warning to pretty much the general public + everyone else. I love this sudden drop from a band that has always delivered in the past and the Kaiser Chiefs have a long history of delivering. In fact this band is really far from a rare indie gem because everyone else will soon hear this one throughout the land. The song Little Shocks is just too damn good not to share!

You got to love the sense that somethings off but in an edgy and danceable way all the same. Those intro bells and on going pino riff add the right amount of classiness needed for these Brit Rockers to stay in line with their inde genre and fans. I’m not saying this song is too different from songs past, but its just simply showing the band has come a long way from their debut album Employment released a good 6 years ago. If you follow the way the band has changed over the years it does seem only right for them to reach this sound. You have to stand out somehow to get some attention these days, or at least be signed with a good record company. I wish I knew more about when the next Kaiser Chief LP is set to come out but no such news yet. I feel that they will be releasing some info soon, but only after the storm of people swarming to listen and catch up with the band due to their 2 and a half year absence since the release of their third and latest LP Off With Their Heads in 2008.

I just had to bite on this one. So I also decided to post the new music video for Little Shocks as well for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!


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Song of the Day! Moving Units – Until She Says

Moving units are part of the dance-punk revival in LA, California

Why does the name David Bowie come to my mind within the first 5 seconds of listening to Until She Says? I don’t even think that question needs a response because the answer lies somewhere in Moving Units dance-punk and electronic infused indie rock. I would’ve hoped a band that spans nearly a decade of formation would have their own unique sound but taking a few pointers from the dance-rock man himself is never a bad thing. Maybe I haven’t exposed myself  to enough Moving Units for this to be a fair statement and might need to go back a few years to an earlier album to truly get a feel for what this LA outfit has to fully offer.

You can catch Until She Says on Moving Units latest EP Tension War which was self-released back in February of this year.


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Song of the Day! Balthazar – Fifteen Floors & Throwing A Ball

Balthazar are throwing a ball from the Kortrijk area of Belgium

Balthazar – Fifteen Floors

Balthazar – Throwing A Ball

Kind of a busy weekend for me so I don’t have much time to keep up with my Song of the Day. I’m so sorry to disappoint my immense amount devoted viewers (Could you pick up the sarcasm?) so to make up for missing yesterday, and possibly tomorrow, I’m throwing two amazing indie gems at you today.

For most people I feel the name Balthazar gives the wrong impression as to what this Belgian Rock/Pop outfit is all about. Try to wipe clean your demonic pre-misconceptions and understand that Balthazar make music that is more on the heavenly end of the spectrum. Their 2010 debut album Applause was like a gift from the Gods themselves and never ceases to sweep me off my feet with each listen, and is undoubtedly the best album of 2010 that you have never heard. So what makes this album so special? Just listen to Fifteen Floors and tell me with a straight face it is not in fact something special. (And if you did I’d simply call you a liar) The trumpet, the bass, the mother-fucking Disney endings… it’s all there! And that’s only track numero uno out of a wonderfully crafted set of eleven songs. Now I could’ve added any other track from the album to this post but I had to choose my personal favorite from Applause, Throwing A Ball. It’s like a fairy tale dance hall hit minus the glamour and princess bull sh*t. The bass guitar in the song just takes over and the gritty viloin accompaniment just drives it all the way home. Throw in the catchy lyrics and it’s very hard for me to find reasons not to love this song. If Fifteen Floors or Throwing A Ball even remotely sparked your intrest I highly recommend sending a few euros Balthazar’s way and pick up a copy of Applause. 


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Song of the Day! Gorillaz – Revolving Doors

Gorillaz recorded The Fall from all corners of the globe

Somehow the Gorillaz managed to sneak a full album release under my nose. Apparently the band was busy behind the scenes of their Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour last year recording their latest album The Fall in between tour dates. The most interesting thing about the album is that all the recording was done through Gorillaz founder (and Blur frontman) Damon Albarn’s iPad and various apps that he downloaded. For an album recorded on a 9×7 inch device I have to give the band major props. While the album doesn’t stand out as anything special when you look at the Gorillaz amazing track record, it is still a beautiful work of musical art that refuses to be ordinary and mundane. Revolving Doors is one of the best tracks you’ll find on The Fall and seems to have a more traditional Gorillaz sound (If such a thing even exists). The album saw a free release to Gorillaz fan club members back in December but just recently got a physical release in April of this year. The Fall is a must have for all of those who claim to be true Gorillaz fans.