As a listener and collector of music I’ve never been a big fan of the EP format. It always felt like too much work for far too little music. Personally, I always felt as if I was getting force fed leftovers from someone else’s meal. On top of that if you purchased one of these EPs there was a good chance it would be full of remix filler. No one needs four different versions of the same song. That doesn’t scream EP to me That screams OCD. I held this anti EP stance for most of my adult life. Truth be told I’m still kind of standoffish towards them but once Radiohead announced they’d be pushing their future recordings towards an EP existence I felt like it might be time for me to embrace the EP temperament and attention span. Helping this transition was the stellar group of EPs that I came across in 2009. I now present them to you, in list form:
(Year end lists are like crack cocaine to me. I need this to stop. January 1st can not come fast enough!)
10) Yim Yames – A Tribute
I’m a sucker for George Harrison and for cover albums so this was an easy choice. Jim James of My Morning Jacket peels away the Phil Spector meddling and leaves you with the stripped down basics of Harrison’s key solo tracks.
Key Track: “My Sweet Lord”
9) Memory Cassette – Call & Response
On top of some great tracks this EP was home to the best video of 2009 and the coolest cover art.
Key Track: “Surfin’ ”
8.) Delorean – Ayrton Senna
I was willing to track this band’s EP down thanks to their brilliant remix of the Teenagers “No Love”. It was well worth the effort.
Key Track: “Deli”
7) Suckers – Suckers
I had to skip this blurb and come back to it at the end of the list like that annoying person who stares at the menu for an hour and then tells the waitress to come back to them after she’s gotten everyone else’s order. I hate that person…but I could relate as I didn’t have much knowledge of this band. What do you say about a band that is more or less a mystery to you? That’s when I realized that’s the beauty of the shortened EP form. You can go out on a limb and reach for a band you know nothing about at the lower price point. No one wants to drop $11.99 to experience an unknown album or artist. What if it blows. You’d feel like a real Sucker (no pun intended). People are crippled with fear when it comes to picking something unknown that they may not like. I once dated a girl who suffered from the crippling fear that she’d hate everything on a restaurant’s menu. It would usually end with us fleeing the scene and running to the comforting embrace of Subway. If only more restaurants priced their food under $5 maybe she and people like her would be more willing to roll the risk dice. I paid under $4 for this Suckers EP and was pleasantly surprised . This Brooklyn band sounded like part Modest Mouse part Clap Your Hands. Not bad. Not bad at all. Lesson learned: Embrace the unknown. After listening to these four tracks I found myself wanting more. Lucky for me the band signed with a major label last month and are currently recording their label major debut LP.
Key Track: “Easy Chairs”
6) El Perro Del Mar – Love is Not Pop
The way Sweden churns out beautiful blond moody songstresses one might think that they’re interchangeable Ikea parts. They’re not. El Perro Del Mar is the rich man’s Lykke Li. “Change of Heart” slays me every time.
Key Track: “Change of Heart”
5) Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind
It’s nice to see the darlings of the indie rock circuit not resting on the laurels of Merriweather Post Pavilion. Instead they released Fall Be Kind, an EP of songs that push even more sonic boundaries. Take that, Grizzly Bear, you good for nothing slackers.
Key Track: “What Would I Want? “,”Sky”
4) The Drums – Summertime
Great summer surf music…that was released in the fall by a band from Brooklyn where no one surfs. This would have ranked higher if they had included “I Felt Stupid“…but I guess they’re saving that track for their major label LP release in 2010. G.D. hoarders.
Key Track: “Let’s Go Surfing”
3) Bon Iver – Blood Bank
Bon Iver’s Blood Bank picks up right where “For Emma, Forever Ago” left off. I think that’s all I need to say.
Key Track: “Blood Bank”
2) The Middle East – The Recordings Of The Middle East
I easily could have ranked this #1 but it would have felt like cheating mostly because The Recordings of the Middle East would seem like the complete opposite of what is to be expected from an EP. It contains eight tracks spanning a total of fifty-two minutes. That hardly feels like an EP. I’ll tell you what it does feel like: an amazing album of beautifully crafted songs full of lush harmonies and flowing emotions. I fell head over heels for this “EP” after being introduced to “Blood” by KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and I haven’t looked back since. It is now a staple of my itunes “sleep mix”. Truth be told I feel like this album deserves it’s very own featured article but its position here serves a very important purpose as it is the polar opposite of…
Key Track: “Blood”
1) Washed Out – Life Of Leisure
If Middle East was an LP in disguise than Washed Out’s “Life of Leisure” is the very definition of an EP…or at least what I expect from an EP. It feels rushed, disjointed, and experimental. When listening to the crisp eighteen minutes of Life of Leisure you can’t help but feel as if you’ve been invited into the studio for a sneak peak of the roots of what is to be a future full length LP. Songs jam on the breaks and end with no warning. They then abruptly jump into the next track as if we’ve stumbled into the artist’s home recordings that are almost ready for mass consumption. They just need to be market tested. We’re their focus group. Research Department, let it be known I’m giving this sample and synth heavy EP high scores. Mind you I might be a bit biased as I am a huge fan of the low fi “chillwave” sound that Internet hipsters were quick to both embrace and write off this year. Regardless if is a fad or not I think they need to relax with all the bashing and put things into perspective. ‘In 1999 people were rocking out to nu-metal. In 2009 people were listening to chillwave. I’ll gladly take chillwave thank you very much.
Advantage 2009. “The Decade From Hell“ My Ass!
Key Track: “New Theory”
