The Sifting Pan

Helping you find those Indie Gems!

Tag Archives: Indie


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Song of The Day! Floraline – Eighty One

You best believe the shock I received when I discovered the year Floraline released the track Eighty One. Apparently Floraline has released one album, and one album only, and that would be the band’s self-titled debut Floraline which was release waaaaay back in the year 1999. It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that a tune like this could possibly be 12 years old. The pleasant electronic beat and laid back guitar seems like they’d fit in so well in today’s modern indie pop music, not the new wave movement of the late 90’s/early 00’s. They other interesting fact about Floraline is that they make seemingly euro-pop music from Atlanta, Georgia. I never would have been able to guess that a southern indie band in the year 1999 would’ve crept its way into my Itunes and into my heart. Everytime I had listened to Eighty One, up until this day, I had been lying to myself and convinced that this five-piece outfit was just another indie act on the verge of breaking out. I now find they existed in a magical time before before Myspace, Facebook, and all other forms of social media so information on Floraline is very limited. This is somewhat disheartening because I now find the sad truth that I will never get to see new material from this hidden gem of the nineties. I guess I have no choice now but to pick up Floraline on Amazon and see what other untold gems are in store for my listening pleasure.

This is the only image in existence on the internet of the Atlanta based Floraline


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Song of the Day! The Pass – Vultures

The Pass make elegant electronic enjoyables from Louisville, KY

Hop on this merry-go-round of indietronic sounds and let the groove of the beat envelop and surround you in Vultures. Heavy on the synth, but not over done and add that dance floor calling beat for the perfect combination and result. Songs with this youthful vigor are the norm on the band’s well crafted debut LP BURST, which saw a release back in September of 2010. I would attempt to describe what The Pass is all about but they’ve already done such a good job at describing themselves-

“We currently spend endless nights toying around with synthesizer loops, crafting haunting melodies, and writing deep passionate lyrics that recall long lost loves and hookups on the dance floor. With a basement sound lab that lends itself as much to electric ladyland as it does a preschool nursery there is a neverending quest for a balanced perfection of synthesizer pop and dancefloor psychedelia. Our live show is somewhere between the final act of a three ring circus and a rave in prague.”

 


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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! Clubfeet – Edge of Extremes

Clubfeet is the holy union of five sons of Melbourne, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa.

That intro bass line could not work any better for the song Edge of Extremes, and compliments the song’s steady pacing and simple and steady dance beat so well. Only one word truly can describe the overall feel of this laid back ambient track, mellow. Very, very, mellow. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a track that can make you want to dance while at the same time keeping your heart rate so low. The song was originally  released on the band’s debut LP Gold on Gold way back in July of 2010, but is just now getting a Single release of its own. I’m glad the band is still releasing singles from Gold on Gold which is an amazing album from a highly underrated band. According to their description: ”Clubfeet create music for the night time that can also be enjoyed in the day time. ” I’ll keep this in mind for tomorrow during the day but for now I’ll just embrace the night on the Edge of Extremes.


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Song of the Day! Passion Pit – Cuddle Fuddle

Who ever said indie gems had to be new? This is a little treat from the now immensely popular Massachusetts band Passion Pit and it glistens out from the band’s early and unknown days. Cuddle Fuddle is a whimsical fairy tale-esque song with a beat that never ceases from their 2008 EP Chunk of Change, which if you didn’t already know started out as a simple Valentines Day gift for lead singer Michael Angelakos’s love interest at the time. Well what started out as a gift found its way to the internet where the EP circulated and blew up big time, primarily due to the band’s song Sleepyhead. Since that point Passion Pit decided to get serious and got to writing and recording their spectacular debut album Manners, which in my opinion became one of the best albums of 2009. If you had asked me who my favorite band was at anytime between 2008 into early 2010 I would of most likely said Passion Pit, but sadly I’ve been exposed to bigger and better things and they have failed in keeping me interested with their lack of new material. I eagerly await news of the bands follow up album, which was slated for a spring 2011 release, but nothing of the sort exist at this time. It seems with all the hype and popularity the band garnished they have found no need to make new music and instead choose to re-issue Manners as a deluxe edition in 2010 and now sit on a gold mine in record sales. I really hoped early on the band would take the path of music, not profit, but what’s a band supposed to do when everything they’ve made is amazing electropop music that everyone can love and bang it out to. I guess for now I can just listen back to the good old days with some Chunk of Change as I patiently wait for a sophomore album from what used to be my favorite band.