The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: Gem


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Song of the Day! Joywave – Golden State

Joywave discuss the Golden State from Rochester, New York, odd…

Vibrant indie rock that is right in sync with today’s progressive alternative music scene. Golden State is a like a nice sweet piece of indie music pie with just the right amount of everything inside. This crusty and delicious single has managed to earned a spot on my most played list of recent times. All baked good similes aside, Joywave’s music seems rather similar to music you might find the indie music market today, but still somehow maintains a unique sound of its own. I wish I knew more about Joywave but it seems that the band did not form until the very end of 2010 and can still be considered very new. One nice thing I found out it is that Joywave released an 11 track mixtape for free in March. If you’re interested in getting your hands on the mixtape titled 77777 then you can head over to Joywave’s website.


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Song of the Day! Lettercamp – Denial Twist (White Stripes Cover)

Alright, so you find a pretty awesome cover of a song you really like by a band you love and your telling me it’s not getting posted to your music blog right away? Yeah right. Lettercamp bring us their electro pop take on The White Stripes 2005 single Denial Twist. I’d like to think that the results are pretty damn good and I have to give major props to Lettercamp for pulling off such a successful White Stripes cover. They succeed in turning a great alternative rock track into a pop music dance hit, which is no easy feat. Even if Lettercamp’s twist on Denial Twist isn’t your cup of tea you can at least respect the attempt put forward by this indie four-piece and recognize them for having the guts to take on such a monster track in the first place.


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Song of the Day! Walk The Moon – Anna Sun

Walk The Moon rattle this house apart from Cincinnati, Ohio

Music Video: Walk The Moon – Anna Sun

The amount of passion Walk The Moon puts into their music is just so immense. You can hear this dedicated intensity in their single Anna Sun. What starts off as a slow ballad of calling out quickly turns into a full-on indie rock dance scene, complete with a Keytar and everything! This song entrances my imagination and makes me want to go out and celebrate being alive with a smile, and any band that can do that has me sold. Walk The Moon independently put out their debut album I Want! I Want! last November and have expressed intentions of putting out another record soon. From what I’ve listened to from I Want! I Want! I can tell you its full of a variety of different song pacing, but the major reoccurring theme you can look forward to is beautiful synth driven dance rock. Believe me when I tell you Walk The Moon is pretty much my favorite discovery this month.


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Song of the Day! Christoffer Roth – A New Kind Of Love

Solo Swedish artist Christoffer Roth is a name I bet you’ve never heard before. With under 300 last.fm listeners and no real artist description anywhere in English, I’d consider Mr. Roth to be pretty independent and under the radar. I have been listening to A New Kind Of Love all April and the song has grown on me with each listen. While the content of the song itself maybe a little on the sad side, i’m more focused on the upbeat indie rock Mr. Roth has managed to create for us. I can’t help but be reminded of Finnish band Cats on Fire who, despite possibly being even more upbeat, is quite similar in musical style and vocal delivery. Maybe that striking similarity is why I enjoy Christoffer Roth so much or maybe I just hold a special place in my heart for good Scandinavian Indie bands. It probably won’t be long before my curiosity gets the best of me and I look into getting my hands on Mr. Roth’s debut album Best In a Mess, released just last month.


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Song of the Day! Sleeper Agent – Get It Daddy


Sleeper Agent formed stateside in Bowling Green, KY

This song jumped out as something special to me at first listen. This is true rambunctious indie rock at its finest. I’m so on board for the anthematic loud singing style of Sleeper Agent’s gorgeous female vocalist Alex “Kidd” Kandel. It somewhat reminds me of the female loud and proud style of Ida Maria. I love that these guys (and gal) know how to shake things up and the music seemingly drops on a dime in what I would call a “Dead Weather Crescendo.” Refer to this video of Treat Me Like Your Mother if you do not already understand what I mean.

Overall the band Sleeper Agent has caused enough excitement in me to want more, but sadly they have not released a full album. According their Facebook page they will be releasing their debut album Celabrasion this coming August. Sleeper Agent have been touring with Manchester Orchestra and Cage the Elephant earlier this year and will continue on with more tour dates from 5/27 to 6/7. Now those dates may not seem important to you but they sure have meaning to me. I planned on attending the Manchester Orchestra and Cage the Elephant show on 5/25, two days prior to Sleeper Agent jumping back in. It’s too bad, these guys seem like they’d put on a hell of a show.