The Best EPs of 2009

© [nati]

Some bands have had it with the long form - they're putting out short form EPs to the delight of audio-hungry their fans.

With so many bands around today, how often are you going to find another Pet Sounds, Low End Theory or Kid A? The fact is that every band out there can’t create a full album’s worth of really great music, so the resurgence of the EP, or Extended Play, is great news for bands that were born for the short form (and the short run).

The bigger bands in it for the long haul who are committed to the nostalgic construct of the LP (Long Play) album know that the buying/downloading public have a gnat-like attention span, and they can’t afford to let their fans lose interest waiting for the next album to drop. By releasing an EP sooner, bands today remind their fan base that in a very competitive market, they’re au courant and still in the game.

And it seems as if many of today’s up and coming business-minded indie bands have learned that you can write and record an EP on the cheap, promote it inexpensively through viral marketing and still squeeze in a gaggle of groupies on the road--all within a much tighter and cost-effective timeframe.

But here’s the EP rub: some artists’ EPs consist of one or two new songs stuffed alongside a couple of retread tunes from their last album, which in turn makes us EP – Extra Pissed that we’ve paid for songs we already own (or have, um, acquired).

Griping aside, here are some of the EPs we’ve been spinning this year:

Spoon's Got Nuffin'

Spoon's Britt and company Got Nuffin' but love for the fans with a mixed bag o' tunes to tide us over 'til their next album. The first couple of rockers are standard Spoon fare but the set closer is a sparse – more so than usual – electro-beat loop sprinkled with some Casiotone synth noodlings. Not for the faint of heart Spooners, but we give the looser, raw groove two thumbs arriba.

Josh Rouse's Valencia

With his last album getting the cold shoulder from critics and fans alike, Josh Rouse raises his freak flag and unleashes his inner Devendra Banhart on the title track of Valencia – thinging in a perfect Castillian Thpanish accent. The song "Magdalena" continues the latin feel, and "Fiesta Morena" is a laid-back instrumental groove, rounded out with and a two-tone rock steady shuffle named "Easy Street." Oi!

Blk Jks's Mystery

And it sure is a Mystery, as this EP's name states, how Blk Jks came at us out of left field. This South African band rocks a reggae, Mars Volta-ish groove. If TV on the Radio grew up in the slums of Johannesburg listening to a bunch of white dudes banging out prog rock, Mystery is what they'd sound like. This 4-song EP only hints at the dynamic album that followed its release this year-pretty unique.

Thom Yorke's FeelingPulledApartbyHorses

At first blush, Thom Yorke's FeelingPulledApartbyHorses kinda leaves us feelinglikewe'vebeenhad with what sounds like two rejected tracks from The Eraser...and yet we can't erase them from our playlist.  What is it about that haunting falsetto, deep beats and guitar synths that keep us coming back for more? All is forgiven Thom – this time.

Washed Out's Life of Leisure

Washed Out's Life of Leisure is an ode to the sound of 80s electro-pop just as the Ecstasy kicks in. This is one of the longest EPs we've come across – clocking in with 6 late summer tunes. Some of the songs, including "Get Up," "New Theory" and "Feel it Around" sound incredibly familiar – like something we heard on the radio back in the day – so we roll with it easily. The mix is all woozy and off-kilter, though, and it leaves you feeling totally stoned by the time it's over. And not the good kid of woozy.

The Drums' Summertime!

The Drums also gave us a whopping 6 songs on their 60s throwback, Summertime! The title may be a self-fulfilling prophecy, though – it's bouncy and light but it probably has a three-month shelf-life on your playlist, so have fun – quick! The second track, Let's Go Surfing, starts with a Peter, Bjorn and John whistled melody and the whistling carries on into the third track as well...and then thankfully they resort to girl backup singers by the fourth song, "Don't Be a Jerk, Jonny," and Beach Boy harmonies by the fifth track, "Submarines." The closing doo-wop lament serenades us with a chorus of, "If you fall asleep down by the water, baby I'll carry you all the way home." Sigh.

No Age's Losing Feeling

There's no shortage of guitar and drum duos these days, but not many that evolve so gracefully. No Age have aged well and quickly and they apparently feel our (ear) pain and lose some of the jackhammer reverb with Losing Feeling, revealing the melody beneath the fuzz. The guitars are still turned up to 11, but there's more nuance and dynamics, even some ambient field recordings over reversed guitar tracks in "Aim at the Airport." 'Course, they turn the levels back up to 12 with the closer, "You're a Target," just to remind us that they still can explode like C4, but the effect overall reveals a bigger plan.

Deerhunter's Rainwater Cassette Exchange

Deerhunter slays us each and every time – they can do no wrong in our book. Heck, Bradford Cox can warble the Yellow Pages and we'll ask for the White Pages next. They've been called ambient punk, art-rock, post-punk...the labels abound. Rainwater Cassette Exchange continues in the vein of their previous gauzy, psychedelic Beach Boys shambolic trance-inducing albums. Does that nail it down for you? Jump in with any album or the many EPs they've released. You'll swear they wrote and recorded it just for you.

NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper's Ninja

Were you lucky enough to download the NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper Ninja EP for free?  The verdict: Jane's tracks rock, Streetsweeper sorta blows (really, Tom – just call Zack and get your Rage back on), and NIN absolutely rules with the barn burner, Not So Pretty Now and the sparse Non-Entity. Come back, Trent – an EP is no way to end it between us!

And please don't get us started on the return of the double album...