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Last Active 12-02-12 5:42 pm
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| Killrobotmusic Presents: Top Eps Of 2009
A few good EPs came out this year, figured I would cover what I got. | | 1 |  | Have A Nice Life
Voids
6. This collection of songs could have easily made it on Deathconsciousness, but didn't for some reason.
Regardless, Have a Nice Life fans were able to get the b-sides release Voids for free this year, and the EP
shows that the band still had more good ideas up their sleeves. A lot of these songs have a more
straightforward rock feel to them (of course mixed in with their heavy use of lo-fi ambience), such as
"Trespassers W", which makes great use of an electric drumbeat over driving chords. The final two tracks
delve more into the shoegaze realm, with "Sisyphus" having a slow but deliberate climax and "Destinos"
mixing interesting dialogue about theology with the music, sounding like theme music to a discussion on
Milton's Paradise Lost. Overall, this EP won't match some of the better songs on Deathconsciousness, but
still presents a worthy collection of tracks to jam out to. | | 2 |  | Pelican
Ephemeral EP
5. Pelican's precursor to their 2009 release What We All Come to Need is a stark collection of three songs
that pack an effective punch. The opening two tracks sound like more effective mixtures of what was on
City of Echoes with their prior output. The cover of drone metal giant Earth's "Geometry of Murder" is a
highlight, providing a slower tempo headbanger that moves through an unflinching course to close the
album. A nice little gem released at the beginning of the year for drone and post-metal fans. | | 3 |  | Mae
(m)orning [EP]
4. Mae's three-part EP release got off to a good start with (m)orning, showing the band's newfound
willingness to experiment with more longer song structures and new instrumental textures. "The
Fisherman Song (We All Need Love)" utilizes all of its 8+ minutes effectively to craft an interesting pop
rock song, while "The House That Fire Built" plays a little more with dynamics and mood to an also
satisfying effect. Some of the tracks are a little off the mark ("Two Birds"?), but still, the band is showing
that they have some good ideas on the table, and hopefully their next LP will look to this EP's strengths for
inspiration. | | 4 |  | Poison the Well
I/III, II/III, III/III
3. Originally on vinyl only, I/III II/III III/III presents some b-sides from Poison the Well's Versions sessions
that I actually would have preferred to hear on the album. The three fast tracks are pretty standard for
PTW, though "Gone Clean" boasts a speedy hardcore tempo that would make circle pit aficionados cream
their pants. The slower offerings though are much more diverse in nature. "Purple Sabbath" shows the
band emulating almost a drone feel, and Moreira's vocals sound downright brutal over the music. "Bowie"
is a somewhat lighter but similar track, and easily beats out some of Version's more dragging slow
numbers. Overall, this is a very good release for PTW fans, but lovers of post-hardcore would be silly to pass
this over as well. | | 5 |  | Bon Iver
Blood Bank
2. So let's say you are Justin Vernon, coming off the highly praised and emotionally drenched "For Emma,
Forever Ago". What is your next move? If your answer was to only use the template of your sound to
create a totally different feeling release, then Blood Bank is an EP for you. Opener "Blood Bank" is a more
traditional Bon Iver track, but subtleties like more fleshed out auxiliary instrumentation create a feeling
that is both warmer but more haunting than past output. The album slowly progresses into more
experimental ideas, culminating the polarizing but beautiful "Woods", using an a cappella vocal
arrangement run through a vocoder to create something different from anything I have ever heard.
Vernon's music on this EP shows that he is one of the best musical minds in Indie music today, and his
constant collaborations with everyone from post-rock bands to jazz ensembles proves that he won't be
pigeonholed into a particular sound. | | 6 |  | Animal Collective
Fall Be Kind
1. Top album and top EP? Are you some sort of rabid fanboy? The truth is, I had never heard anything by
AC until a few months ago, but the music they put out in 2009 was enough to make me realize how
talented of songwriters these guys are. Opening track "Graze" is downright incredible: with the first half
sounding more like a movie soundtrack with shimmering strings and moody piano backdrops until suddenly
switching into an upbeat pan flute jam. This sounds preposterous in writing, but the band somehow
manages to pull it off more than successfully. "What Would I Want? Sky" Also shows a definitive new
sound for the band, where a well-executed ambient groove gives into a sound that has as much in
common with 90's alternative music as it does the Grateful Dead sample being used within. The other
songs all show different types of sounds for the group, with "I Think I Can" using sparse instrumentals and
angular textures to create one hell of a build into what I can only call a vocal explosion at the end,
sounding more like a contrapuntal choral exercise than an indie pop arrangement. I would say this EP
features better music than Merriweather Post Pavilion, and certainly deserves this top spot. | |
Mr. Lizard
12.23.09 | List really needs Lost Ground by Defeater | BrandNewBoognish
12.23.09 | Animal Collective are another painfully overrated band for pitchfork's army of mocha drinking hipsters | EVedder27
12.23.09 | Manchester Orchestra - Fourteen Years of Excellence
The Lawrence Arms - Buttsweat and Tears
were both great eps released this year as well | Metalstyles
12.23.09 | Butcehr Jones - NO Gods West Ep
that will be all | DaveyBoy
12.23.09 | If I had to choose a Best EP of '09, I think it would be VersaEmerge. | Relinquished
12.23.09 | Thank you for having 2 on your list. | ameypv
12.24.09 | skyfire - fractal ep | AggravatedYeti
12.24.09 | cool, these were all a blast to read |
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