The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: Indie Rock


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Song of the Day! Funeral Party – Finale

Funeral Party bring us The Age of Knowhere from Whittier, California

It’s called dance punk and it’s the very fiber of Funeral Party’s being. It’s also called turning the volume up as loud as possible and letting the beat take you in as you jump up and down to the raw and untamed rock n’ roll these guys dish out so damn well. How can you not feel an overwhelming sense of excitement when you listen to this east coast band cut loose and make music that can simply be described as “a good fucking time.” I challenge you to listen to Finale all the way through and not tap your foot along. You won’t be able to. Nope. Not at all. In fact you actually might start thrashing around the room so make sure to stand in an area free of furniture. Finale isn’t the only tune by Funeral Party that will cause spontaneous rage dancing. Their debut album The Golden Age of Knowhere is full of tracks that will rock you to your core and has to be up there somewhere in the top five list of debut albums this year. One of my favorite tracks of the past couple months has been Funeral Party’s epic anthem New York City Moves to the Sound of L.A.. You just gotta love that cowbell opening. All in all Funeral Party is a band I’d be happy to play at any party, even my funeral. I think Finale would be perfect.

Here is the music video for Funeral Party’s Finale. Good times enclosed.

Go like Funeral Party’s Facebook page now! I know you like them so let them know it.


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Song of the Day! Young The Giant – Cough Syrup

Young the Giant bring us their special brand of American indie rock from Irvine, California

Young the Giant have absolutely mesmerized me with their 2010/2011 self titled debut album Young the Giant. I can’t help but listen through the album over and over again thinking to myself, “This is what true and creative indie rock sounds like.” It’s hard to find a track on the album that isn’t both majestic and enthralling. At the same time it’s difficult to pick just one track off this spectacular debut to highlight and praise. I’m sure the world is already very familiar with Young the Giants first single My Body, as it has seen endless radio play over the past few months. I could’ve shared my favorite track off the album with you, I Got, but i’m selfish and am keeping it all to myself. So I guess that leaves the steady and soothing track Cough Syrup. With it’s mellow string of chords and wonderfully catchy vocalization, it’s just one of the many songs responsible for my returning again and again to the album. I keep telling myself just one more spoonful of Cough Syrup now, but it can never be just one. It’s probably not healthy to chug a whole bottle of the stuff, but I can’t help myself when it says Young the Giant on the label. Now i’m going to drift off now into a trance like state with a belly full of beautiful indie music courtesy of the best new band of 2011. You can listen to Young the Giant in all it’s entirety on Soundcloud here.

Here’s the music video for Cough Syrup which was released last week.

Head over to Young the Giant’s Facebook page and give them a like. You know they deserve it.


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Song of the Day! Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle

Bombay Bicycle Club shuffle things up from Crouch End, London, England

If someone were to ask me who is my favorite band above all others I would simply reply Bombay Bicycle Club. This little indie rock band from London has stolen my heart since the release of their single How Are You back in 2007. Finaly 2009 saw the release of their debut album I Had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose which held a place above all other music released that year and to this day has to be the greatest album to ever grace my ears. With perfect singles like Dust On the Ground and Always Like This it was an album impossible not to fall in love with.

So as you can probably already tell I got pretty damn excited when I heard the news that they would be releasing a new album August 29th called A Different Kind Of Fix. The first taste of the their third studio album is their newest single Shuffle. I could not of asked for anything greater from Bombay Bicycle Club because Shuffle is everything one could ask for in a BBC song. Intriguing piano to lure you in and then a swift beat with take off of melodic guitars all topped off with beautiful vocals that just beg you to sing along. Ok, so maybe I’m digging a little deep into the song but it’s really hard not to when your favorite band releases such amazing new material. I haven’t heard such an wonderful single from Bombay Bicycle Club since the release of the song How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep, which was written for the Twilight Saga: Eclipse Official Soundtrack. Yeah I know *bleh* Twilight but the song stands miles away on it’s own from the rest the indie BS on the soundtrack and is a work of musical genius in my highly biased opinion.

A Different Kind Of Fix now tops my list of most anticipated albums yet to be released in 2011 and Shuffle might soon take the spot of most played song in my Itunes due to being played over and over again as I eagerly await their fall release. My only wish is that Bombay Bicycle Club breakthrough in the United States because I’m tired of being the only person I know who is aware of this magical band. Then again if they remain popular solely in the UK I can live with them being Britain’s best kept indie rock secret, and mine.


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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.