As the distribution of EPs have become increasingly popular, we've decided to create a separate section for reviews of these releases.




nyc stuff and nyc bags
by Vondelpark
TEXT: MANUEL ABREU
Surrey (South East England) trio Vondelpark have been compared to The xx, the sound of their R&S Records debut Sauna EP being labeled by some as “emo-garage” (as in, “garridge”). They’ve returned with their...  [continue reading]



Headspace by We Barbarians
TEXT: KYRSTEN BEAN
We Barbarians, newly Brooklyn based after moving to New York from the West Coast, have just released Headspace, their new EP. The band is originally from California, but, said frontman David Quon, “We decided tomove to Brooklyn to see how it would...  [continue reading]



Affiliayted by Gayngs
TEXT: ADRIAN ROJAS
Early last year, the supergroup known as Gayngs first showed up on the indie-scene with the release of their debut LP, Relayted. The group, which features Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Dessa and P.O.S. (Doomtree), and Michael Lewis (Andrew Bird)—among...  [continue reading]



Manifestations EP by Mono/Poly
TEXT: ADRIAN ROJAS
Mono/Poly, the moniker of the electronic musician, Charles E. Dickerson is an absolute fiend when it comes to making infectious music. His glitchy, blippy sounds are brought to life by his ability to infuse elements of numerous genres that include jazz, hip...  [continue reading]



Bystander by Jets Overhead
TEXT: KYRSTEN BEAN
Indie Canadian rock band Jets Overhead has released a thoughtful meandering EP for 2011. It is a collection of studio songs that didn’t make it on to their full-length 2008 album, No Nations. The band combines a hint of electronica with a psychedelic indie…  [continue reading]



Feeling Today by Botany
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
With Feeling Today, Texas-based electronic artist Botany has the set the bar high for whatever he decides to put out next. The eponymous opening song alone is full of enough buoyant swirling textures, lulling ambiance, and creative sampling...  [continue reading]



Boyfriend by We Are Trees
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
It took me about 16 seconds to fall in love with We Are Tree’s debut EP, Boyfriend. That’s when the jangly acoustic guitar on opener “Sunrise Sunset” gave way to a cymbal wash and warm, reverbed background vocals, and I got chills all down...  [continue reading]



Ammunition Teeth by Exray’s
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
Rough, defiantly lo-fi, and wholly engaging, Exray’s debut EP Ammunition Teeth is an unmistakably modern take on the  bedroom synthpop and minimal wave of the early 80’s. Stream-of-consciousness lyrics spill out with a passive ease over...  [continue reading]



Green Grow The Rushes
by John Vanderslice
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
Few artists share John Vanderslice’s love for, and mastery of, the studio environment, and it shows on Green Grow The Rushes. The EP is full of the bouncy, poppy, beautifully recorded music that’s come to...  [continue reading]



Zeroes EP by Suuns
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
There’s something gritty and darkly urgent about Montreal-based band Suun’s debut EP and precursor to the LP, Zeroes QC, which comes out in a couple of weeks. It’s a simple e style—immediately obvious within the first few  seconds of post-punk...  [continue reading]



DC Hope by Weed
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
It’s fitting that the press release for DC Hope identifies Weed’s genre as “bedrock,” as there really is no more perfect description for the EP’s intimate mixture of lo-fi shoegaze and  fuzzy pyschedelia. The solo project of Brooklyn-based artist...  [continue reading]



Young at Life and Love
by Dominant Legs
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
It’s hard to imagine Dominant Legs splitting off as easily from any other currently performing band than Girls. Though the formers drum machines and funk -inflected guitar lines more...  [continue reading]



B-sides by Starfucker
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
Starfucker has always been about gleefully shameless pop, albeit in the slightly skewed way their name suggests. The band is like Of Montreal’s older, reformed frat-boy brother; just as adept at catchy electronics, but more interested in partying and sex than Danish...  [continue reading]



Pure Moods by Cave
TEXT: JOSEPH ALLEN
Pure Moods, the recent EP release by Cave is loaded full of ripping guitar riffs, grooving bass lines and up tempo, hard driving drum beats. The psychedelic rockers puts you in mind of sounds and concepts that were popular in the 60’s and 70’s, focusing on...  [continue reading]



Semi-Circle by Shigeto
TEXT: NEIL LEVENS
For his first release under the pedigree Ghostly label, electronic sound-smith Shigeto (a.k.a. Zach Saginaw) has taken the task very seriously. Minimal in length, Semi-Circle is a powerful and even collection of material to be chosen as a prologue to his...  [continue reading]



Me Gusto by Mexicans with Guns
TEXT: MAT LINDENBERG
If the opening seconds of “Dame Lo,” hold any clues to the future of mysterious one-man project Mexican With Guns, then I’m pretty stoked to see what follows this EP. Over a rattling re-sampled latin guitar, spliced vocals, and maracas, “Dame Lo” builds and builds...  [continue reading]



Life of Leisure by Washed Out
TEXT: LUKAS CLARK-MEMLER
“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” Though this Marxist quote was generally referring to something other than the music industry, it can be applied just as accurately to it. Take for instance, the disco movement. Beginning in...  [continue reading]