We're one step closer friends! Thursday I'll be publishing my top 50 Singles of the year, and Friday look out for my top 25 albums! Until then, enjoy my top 5 favorite EP's!
5. Chelsea And The Noise - Blank Frames
Chelsea and the Noise came through here with a surprisingly solid collection of wildly catchy and intense Industrial tracks. In 4 tracks we have elements of Noise Pop, Electronic Music, some Hip Hop and more. And for the most part, it’s all gravy. I mean sure, I would like this EP to be a little more gritty or dark, and I would honestly LOVE for them to go even further down the Industrial sound, but that’s just me being picky. Chelsea and the Noise blend all of these sounds really well and make an entirely fresh sound out of it, and it’s exciting as hell.
4. Belle & Sebastian - How to Solve Our Human Problems, Pt. 3 - EP
Belle and Sebastian round up their "How To Solve our Human Problems" trilogy with easily the most enjoyable group of tracks yet. While other Parts of this EP Trilogy have seem lost, with Belle and Sebastian rarely having any direction, this EP has tons of it. There are still some punchy grooves and some very refined instrumentals, but that's something that these Indie Pop legends have worked with for years. But this EP is just so likable overall, and a really pleasant short listen. How this ties in with the other EP's, and what this trilogy represents as a whole is up for debate. However, if you want a refresher course on what Belle and Sebastian can do when they're focused while we wait for a full length album, this is a surprisingly decent EP.
3. Woods / Dungen - Myths 003
Woods and Dungen really come through on here with surprisingly pleasant and concise set of tracks. The "Myths" series in the past has been such a disappointment to me, often sounding like two acts thrown together and rushed to record. But here, Woods and Dungen actually get like half an hour of a recording together, and the result has some fantastic chemistry. More times than not, the Cosmic jams these two offer up are so concise that you forget this is a collaboration between two artists. Now, the majory of this EP is instrumental, just warning you. But if you can get past that, this EP is seriously pleasant and has some serious jams on it.
2. Spiritual Cramp - Police State
Spiritual Cramp on this 11 minute EP do more for the Post and Dance Punk genres than most acts in the game right now. In 4 tracks, this EP travels from Dub Reggae to Old School grimy Punk. The performances are manic and extremely urgent, and there are few moments here where I'm not completely excited to hear what these guys do next. Also, the versatility of this band is just so freakin' interesting, and their full length album is just as exciting.
Gatecreeper / Iron Reagan - Split
This EP absolutely RIPS in every way. Yea, it’s 20 minutes. Yea I sort of wish these two bands would focus more on their own solo albums. But let’s be real, this EP shows a great progression in both of these acts. We see Iron Reagan embracing their Punk energy more than ever, and bringing in a slew of group choruses that come off GREAT. Then we have Gatecreeper, who have clearly been working on building up their atmosphere’s and getting more conceptual by the day. This EP may be short, but it’s absolutely brutal, and incredibly memorable, and has some of the best tunes either one of these bands have worked with.
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