The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: Indie Pop


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Kid Astray – [Diver]

Kid Astray Diver

Meet Kid Astray the fun-fueled sextet from Oslo, Norway

Kid Astray – Diver:

Take a deep breath and dive in with me! This electropoptastic tune by Scandinavian six piece Kid Astray is just what your summer has been waiting for. Take those summer feel-good vibes to the next level with all the luscious layers of my current obsession, Diver.

When I say that I can’t get enough of this truly uplifting track… I darn well mean it! If Diver was like a grand hotel’s Jacuzzi, I would have far surpassed the maximum time allowed in one use. I’m beginning to think my musical brain is prunning up from the prolonged exposure to this satisfying indie pop.

And to think, I used to believe the repeat button didn’t have a purpose…

Twitter Handle: @KidAstray
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kidastray
Spotify: Kid Astray


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The Dø – [Trustful Hands] + [Sparks]

The Dø - Trustful Hands + Despair, Hangover & Ecstasy

Fantastic French/Finnish freak folk duo The Dø is comprised of Dan Levy & Olivia Merilahti

The Dø – Trustful Hands:

It’s always exciting when your favorite freak folksters of the last 10 years release a new album. Even better when it stands out as a particularly strong addition to their already glorious repertoire. The Dø’s third album Shake Shook Shaken has not seen a world wide release yet, but the majority of the album has made it’s way onto Spotfiy and Soundcloud. All of the early releases are worth listening, but I really wanted to take the time to share the most recent songs that have been unveiled.

Trustful Hands is a laid-back tune that contains everything one might expect, and enjoy, from The Dø. From the always lovely acoustic noodles to the electronic percussion swells, it’s a song that attempts covers all it’s bases. I believe it has done so to much success, as fans old and new should be able to rally around such a whimsicality. It should be noted, however, that they are definitely headed in direction centered more around heavy production and experimentation within the realm of electronic based sounds.

Quite possibly my favorite new track so far, Sparks falls on to the darker and growing electronic side of The Dø’s expansive musical spectrum, and with that darkness comes a formidable intensity that will try to consume you in a desperate cry for introspection. Olivia’s alluring vocals call out in a siren song that you will surly find irresistible. It’s likely that I’d crash my ship into jagged rocks and drown while being captivated by this song.

The Dø – Sparks:  

Twitter Handle: @thedoband
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thedoband
Spotfiy:  The Dø

Kimbra - The Golden Echo


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Best Albums of 2014 #5.) Kimbra – The Golden Echo

Kimbra - The Golden Echo

released in August 2014 via Warner Bros. Records

The Golden Echo is both majestic and enamoring in the way it leaves behind an insatiable thirst for more. New Zealand’s very own Kimbra has truly outdone herself on her latest release with the ability to keep her unique brand of experimental pop so palatable. She’s miles ahead of her fellow intellectual alt-poptress and the proof is in the incredible range of genre warping going on here. The debate about the coming mono-genre rages on, and all the while Kimbra has created a saturated cocktail that combines more genres then I actually knew existed.

Here is where things start to get a little strange. As it turns out, The Golden Echo is an experimental concoction that goes down smoother than I could have ever possibly expected. I never knew I could fall for an album that had so much going on in areas music that I simply have no foundation. I can understand how at first everything it may seem too overwhelming to handle, but like a good movie, as you watch it time and time again, you begin to pick up on the clever artistic choices made that add to the overall appeal. Clocking in at over an hour, with its shortest track being closer to 4 minutes, The Golden Echo is very much like watching a cinematic experience, and I strongly recommend setting aside the time to give it shot.

Kimbra has created more than a few engrossing songs that I will surly keep on sharing and playing for decades to come.

Favorite Tracks:
90s Music
Love In High Places
Goldmine
Miracle
Carolina
Nobody But You
Madhouse

Twitter Handle: @kimbramusic
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kimbramusic
Spotify:  Kimbra

Dan Croll - Sweet Disarray


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Best Albums of 2014 #8.) Dan Croll – Sweet Disarray

Dan Croll - Sweet Disarray

released in April 2014 via Capital Records

Dan Croll’s overwhelmingly strong debut album Sweet Disarray is exactly just that.

It’s delicious, daring, dandy and disorienting! 
It’s fresh, fly, friendly, and fascinating!
It’s gregarious, gracious, grand, and gravitating!
It’s simply sweet disarray!

In just under 40 minutes, Dan Croll manages to compact together what takes many musicians a lifetime to achieve. Mr. Croll created an indie pop album where almost every single song has the capability of holding its own. Each one crafted with an individual majesticness that only it may boast. It’s not as if Dan Croll reinvented the wheel or anything, but damn did he create one that I will keep on spinning until the end of my time.

Quite cleverly, he has channeled the style of many indie popsters and rockers that have come before him, but at the same time forged a sound that can now only be attributed to him. In due time the world will catch up to the all the glory and pop prowess of Dan Croll.

In Sifting Pan terminology, Sweet Disarray is what we call a big ol’ fat bag of indie gems.

Favorite Tracks:
Compliment Your Soul
Can You Hear Me
From Nowhere
Thinkin Aboutchu
Only Ghost
Home

Twitter Handle: @DanCroll
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dancroll
Spotify:  Dan Croll


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BØRNS – [10,000 Emerald Pools]

BØRNS - 10,000 Emerald Pools

L.A based indie rocker BØRNS originated from south Michigan 

BØRNS – 10,000 Emerald Pools:

Folk-pop act BØRNS has erupted onto the music scene with a true indie gem that satiates the senses on all levels. There is an immediate and undeniable allure to the causal coastal sound of 10,000 Emerald Pools. Is there any better way to transition into fall than a song that compels you to hit the road with all the windows down for a spontaneous oceanic adventure?

So turn up the volume to max and toggle your cruise control to carefree. The world around you should slowly begin to melt as the tides from 10,000 Emerald Pools roll in. Enjoy becoming slowly submerged in all the feel good waves this nautical jam has to offer.

According to various sources, BØRNS will begin a tour across the United States this fall. I really hope I’m able to make it out of my Mineshaft to see this talented gentleman.

Twitter Handle: @bornsmusic
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bornsmusic
Spotify:  BØRNS