EPs of 2009

Some of the year's best music didn't come in albums, but in EPs.  I'm not sure what the strict definition for an EP is exactly, but it's shorter than an album.  The ones I've got here are 3-8 songs long.

An EP can be perfect when you want to listen to a singular body of music, but you don't have the time or the patience to listen to a full album.  Sometimes I'll get in the car and I'll figure that the time of my trip is just about right to listen to one of these.

I think the EP is a good compromise between the ADD nature of our society, where people more often than not just listen to their iPods on shuffle, and the desire for a band/artist to release a piece of music greater than just a single song.  We might see more music released in the form of EPs in the future.

Anyway, a list of my favorite music of the year would be incomplete without mentioning these awesome records.

Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
Animal Collective had one helluva year.  They started it by releasing the fantastic LP Merriweather Post Pavilion and they ended it by releasing this EP, Fall Be Kind.  The name is a play on the daylight savings time phrase "fall behind", reminding you to set your clocks back one hour (rather than spring forward).  Merriweather Post Pavilion has a very spring/summery feel, and they recorded this as an autumn record.  It's a sweet companion piece to MPP, and the Grateful Dead sampling track "What Would I Want? Sky" is incredible. 

Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Bradford Cox's other band Atlas Sound released the full album Logos this year, but with Deerhunter he decided to go the EP route with Rainwater Cassette Exchange.  This honestly might be my favorite Deerhunter record.  The title track starts things off with kind of a surf rock vibe.  "Disappearing Ink" and "Famous Last Words" are bangin' rockin' tunes.  Then it gets mellow with the beautiful "Game of Diamonds".  "Circulation" closes the record with a wall of noise.  Five awesome tracks, no filler.

No Age - Losing Feeling
I dig the No Age sound...noise pop, or lo-fi, or whatever you wanna call it.  This EP finds the band really stepping up as songwriters.  "Losing Feeling" and "You're a Target" rank among their best songs.

Modest Mouse - No One's First, and You're Next
That's a great title.  This could be considered a B-sides collection.  These are songs Modest Mouse recorded alongside the albums Good News for People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.  But these aren't castoffs.  I really dig "Satellite Skin" and "Guilty Cocker Spaniels".

Spoon - Got Nuffin
This one might be considered more of a tease for their new album Transference rather than a separate and complete piece in its own right, like the records above.  Nonetheless, it was cool to hear some new Spoon.