Listmania: Our Favorite EP's of 2008
Posted on 13 December 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Year End Lists
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So yeah, here is the first of our 2008 lists which recognizes our favorite short format releases (EP’s/7”/demos) of the year. Look for our list of favorite full-length albums early next week.
10. Broadway Calls/Teenage Bottlerocket Split 7”
If you have any affinity for pop-punk there is no way you can’t love both Broadway Calls and Teenage Bottlerocket. This is a ridiculous split and like tampered Halloween candy, these four songs are sugary sweet but razor sharp. (Adeline)MP3 | Teenage Bottlerocket – Bitchface
09. Joe Pug – Nation Of Heat EP
Fans of Bob Dylan and Josh Ritter take note of Joe Pug and his Nation Of Heat EP. He’s got a weariness that belies his age and sounds like a well-traveled man. The EP captures that and the way that just Joe and his acoustic guitar can quiet a crowd and have everyone hanging on every last word he spills. (Self-Released)MP3 | Joe Pug – Hymn #101
08. Title Fight – Kingston 7”
The 3 songs on Title Fight’s debut 7” fall squarely into the post-Lifetime vein of melodic punk that we all love so much. You know, fast and furious but tuneful pop-punk with well-placed breakdowns that even my wife (who was born PA and raised on East Coast punk) gives her A-OK to. (Flight Plan)MP3 | Title Fight – Loud And Clear
07. Ida – My Fair, My Dark 12” EP
My Fair, My Dark is a great counterpoint and companion piece to Ida’s excellent album Lovers Prayers from earlier this year. It finds the band sounding a little more country-folk than usual but Dan Littleton’s amazingly delicate guitar work and the band’s gorgeous vocal harmonies are still wholly intact. (Polyvinyl)MP3 | Ida – Road To Ruin
06. Shorebirds – Shorebirds 7”
Chris Bauermeister from Jawbreaker + Matt Canino from Latterman = Shorebirds = awesome = already broke up. The songs on this 7” sound like a simpler, more straightforward, and less overtly political version of Latterman’s gruff pop-punk. You know this is good. (No Idea)MP3 | Shorebirds – People I Live With
05. Get Bent – Demo
This was recorded by Latterman’s Phil Douglas so, umm… yeah. Sounds a little like if the guy from Latterman was fronting Sarge. Yeah, NYC’s Get Bent plays gruff but catchy pop-punk rock with a hint the heartland and just enough “Just Like Kurt” to balance out the “Broadway & Briar.” Download free from If You Make It. (Self-Released)MP3 | Get Bent – City
04. Graham Lindsey – The Mine EP
Dark and unapologetic roots folk-blues falls somewhere in the middle of Gillian Welch, Bob Dyan, and William Elliott Whitmore. Graham Lindsey’s aching gravelly voice, his acoustic guitar, and his banjo are at the heart of his haunting and timeless Americana that references the past while being utterly contemporary. (Spacebar Recordings)MP3 | Graham Lindsey – Everything
03. Young Hearts – The Fight EP
Featuring ex-members of Dear Tonight and Saturday Supercade, Young Hearts delivers that gritty, shitty, technical, and raucously melodic hardcore-influenced pop-punk that you know you love. Rec’d for fans of Broadway Calls, Digger, Lifetime, and Weston. (Self-Released)MP3 | Young Hearts – Backs To It
02. Iron Chic – Demo
Featuring members of Small Arms Dealer and Latterman, Iron Chic’s free EP is full of melodic and gritty sing-a-longs that are great and not emo in the same way both aforementioned bands were and the way that Hot Water Music is. Download free from If You Make It. (Self-Released)MP3 | Iron Chic – Timecop
01. The Gaslight Anthem – Senor And The Queen EP
The Senor and the Queen EP is full of rootsy punk-inspired rock that blends The Gaslight Anthem’s hardcore roots seamlessly with their snap-shirted heartland Americana. It’s rough but easy and wouldn’t sound out of place alongside either Lucero or Bruce Springsteen. (Sabot Productions)MP3 | The Gaslight Anthem – Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?
Comments
It came from the nineties (Vol. 46) All Our Holiday Goodness
Yep, those fall about where I’d put them, although I might bump the Shorebirds record up a few slots. I’ve also found myself listening to the Narrows EP that Deathwish put out, the two Envy splits (w/Thursday & Jesu), and the Boy Problems tour demo, which you’d freakin’ love.