The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: Best of 2010


by Leave a comment

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.


by 2 Comments

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. 


by Leave a comment

Song of the Day! The Dead Weather – The Difference Between Us


The Dead Weather bring us their wonderful collaboration from Nashville, Tennessee

Ok, so what if The Difference Between Us isn’t the newest song to come out, but it does not change the fact that it is an excellent song by a band consisting of an alternative rock dream team- Alison Mosshart (of The Kills), Jack White (of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes). The Dead Weather released their second and latest album Sea of Cowards nearly a year ago this time and it still holds the same pristine value to me now as it did then. The album excels in dishing out bluesy grunge rock that just hits you hard and not to mention amazing vocals that switch between Mosshart and Mr. White. After countless spins in my car’s CD player and tons of scrobbles through Itunes it was rather easy to come to the conclusion that Sea of Cowards was one of the best albums of 2010. I could easily go track by track listening without issue, in fact I enjoy the songs that much more when I listen to the album front to back. If you haven’t had the chance to listen to Sea of Cowards then stop what your doing and go find a copy, you will absolutely not regret it.


by 1 Comment

Song of the Day! Middle Class Rut – I Guess You Could Say

Middle Class Rut lead the Alt Rock Revival front from Sacramento, CA

If you have not been exposed to the alternative rock of Middle Class Rut yet then you’re in for a real treat. This unpredictable rock duo, comprised of Zack Lopez and Sean Stockham, capture so much more then your average band seems to in their anthemic rock songs. I Guess You Could Say is a prime example of the band’s ability to trek so much ground within one song. I’m just saying that the musical variety they employ is pretty damn awesome, especially with such piercing and memorable lyrics to top it off. Believe me when I say this sort of thing is a reoccurring theme on their album No Name No Color. I highly recommend listening to New Low* or Cornbread if you want to get a further idea of what the bands sound is like. Middle Class Rut is nice enough to offer No Name No Color in it’s whole glorious entirety streaming on Soundcloud.

*I highly recommend you atleast watch the video to this song. New Low, in my personal opinion, is one of the best tracks to come out of 2010.