My favorite EPs are the ones where you can listen to the creative process playing out in real time. They can be either a bridge between one album's sound and the next, and include certain tracks that just quite didn't fit in either album, or they can even be their own little evolutionary dead ends, just completely divergent microprojects that the artist(s) felt still deserved to exist. Either way you get to see the evolution and it seems like you gain a little glimpse behind the scenes into a slightly less polished or less thought out and more exposed and adventurous version of the creative process. They signal development in its rawer and more pure form.
Anyway some of my favorites are:
- WHY?'s run of eps from 2003 to 2006.
- Ricky Eat Acid - like i was floating
- Tor/Sufjan Stevens - Illinoize
- TV Girl - self titled
- The Decemberists - Picaresqueties
- Field Medic - little place
- Divorcee - self titled (this one is cool because it came out roughly half a decade later, but it's a companion piece to WHY?'s Alopecia album, but is written by the woman Yoni (from WHY?) was dating at the time of that album, and therefore tells her point of view, but it was produced by Yoni, so it has the same overall sound and production vibe. It's a nice form of honesty and reconciliation).
- Girls - Broken Dreams Club (not sure if its technically an ep, but its only 30 minutes, which for that era, kind of feels like ep length)
- Millionyoung - Be So True
- James Blake - Klavierwerke
- Los Campesinos! - Sticking Fingers Into Sockets
- Jay Electronica - Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (technically a mixtape, but its ep length)
- Small Black - self titled
- Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities (also technically a mixtape, but I'm including it since its not an album and not on streaming)
- Straylight Run - Prepare to be Wrong
- Vondelpark - Sauna
- Shlohmo - Places
- Shlohmo and Jeremih - No More
Mar 8, 2024
Related Recs
🔀
if you like the dronier bits on the new ethel cain, you might like:
Taylor Deupree - Sti.ll
Burial - Subtemple/Beachfires
William Basinski - Lamentations
William Tyler - Frozen Shelter
Daniel Bachman - AXACAN
Bibio - Phantom Brickworks LP II
Laurel Halo - Atlas
Hundred Waters - Chambers (Passing Train)
Juliana Barwick - Healing is a Miracle
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Skunk Ape - Ground Hums
Cristoph de Babalon - Opium
Grouper (just all of her stuff really)
His Name is Alive - Hope is a Candle
Brian McBride - When the Detail Lost Its Freedom
Hainbach - The Evening Hopefuls
Jan 14, 2025
🎶
- M3LL155X - FKA twigs
- EP2 - Yaeji
- Vaporize a Neighbor - Squid Pisser
- Pain / Ache / Loving - HUNNY
- The Boats&birds - Gregory and The Hawk
Mar 8, 2024
🔀
sorted by genre, some are forthcoming but all have at least some singles out if not the whole project
alternative/singer-songwriter:
claire rousay - sentiment, experimental/sound collage artist makes an indie guitar ballad album, think boygenius with weirder production
South Hill Experiment - South Hill & Friends, S/H/E are like The Wrecking Crew but in modern times. basically a jam band fronted by two brothers who feature a rotating cast of other musicians/vocalists/rappers. this EP is their latest collaborative project with some folks
Laetitia Sadier - Rooting for Love, solo album of the frontwoman of Stereolab. production has some electronic quirks but mostly kind of alt rock at its core. lots of songs are in french, themes of love and conflict and commentary on social concepts
electronic:
Nourished by Time - Catching Chickens EP, this guy is like the David Byrne of rnb in terms of unique vocal affectation and song concepts. instrumentation is very inspired by 80s/90s club music and early digital production
Thy Slaughter - Soft Rock, actually a very energetic electronic pop record, the last PC music release EVER :(
Squarepusher - Dostrotime, idm wackiness but in the best way. if you just want to jump head first into some bleep bloop drum break madness this is your album (first track is chill guitar instrumental tho)
shoegaze/dream pop
Punchlove - Channels, some CLASSIC style shoegaze here, less pure walls of sound and more melodic and rhythmically driven but though that typical fog you'd expect from the genre
crushed - extra life, vocals are great, production blends triphop/dream pop so the atmosphere across the record is stunning but groove-driven
Mar 14, 2024
Top Recs from @ruffianbandwidth
🔎
I don't know how well this actually answers your initial question, I think it's more of a counterpoint to some of the stuff people have already said, but here it goes.
In the past (prior to social media or search engines) specific styles, specialized knowledge, and niche awareness actually took effort. You had to go out into the world and find a scene, be accepted, participate in it, contribute to it, and learn from others with specific knowledge within the specific sub- or counter-cultural scene. It took time, effort, and experience to craft an identity. Nowadays people cycle through various identities and trends like commodities because it takes no effort (they're sold to them by social media algorithms, influencers, brand accounts, etc.). It comes to you in your phone without you ever even having to leave the house or put in the time to discover it or participate in it (you just follow specific people or subscribe). You can be a passive observer or consumer, not an active contributor. As a result, you're not invested or tied down and committed to that core identity. You can cosplay depending on your mood or who you want to momentarily convey yourself as, because it's easy. Essentially, being a poser has become normalized. An identity is now something to be momentarily consumed and affected, rather than grown, built, and developed over time.
Granted, it's always been different in regards to "mass" culture and popular trends (both in the past and now). Those are impossible to miss and were always monopolized by specific trend setting institutions, but always by the time it gets to that point, the actual initial counter- or sub-culture that inspired it has already been coopted and has started to disintegrate under the weight and attention of mass consumption.
Feb 18, 2024
It's an action deserving of its own nickname. My cat's name is Gomez, but when he crosses his paws like this, he turns into Hodgkins Plumpersocks.
Feb 2, 2024
Oatmeal raisin cookies don't get enough love. As a kid, my palate couldn't appreciate their subtle flavor, but thankfully oatmeal raisin cookies we're rehabilitated for me later in life. I now see the error of my ways, and am trying to evangelize about them, and rehabilitate them for others, by making this recipe.
They're great cause they're not too sweet, so they feel appropriate for both dessert and breakfast. They're also like a blank canvas of oaty brown sugar goodness that you can then imbue with whatever add-ins you want (thus turning one recipe into a plethora of variations). My personal favorites are semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and roasted cashews.
Feb 26, 2024