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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Top EPs of 2011

So I took a bit of a break for the holidays and to focus on my year end lists. Kept coming across new albums to take in, which pushed this process back even further.

Without further adieu, I will start my year end lists with my favorite 10 EPs of 2011. Tomorrow I will post my Honorable Mention albums for 2011, followed by my top 50 albums broken up into 2 posts. Of course I am going to spread this out as much as possible!

10) James Blake: Enough Thunder



9) Year of the Tiger: Good Day for A Tiger - you can download this and 2 recently released tracks on their bandcamp site here http://yearofthetiger.bandcamp.com/album/good-day-for-a-tiger

8) The Heavenly States: Oui Camera Oui 




7) Gary Clark Jr.: The Bright Lights EP




6)Toro Y Moi: Freaking Out




5) High Highs: High Highs - The below track "Flowers Bloom" has been one of my favorites for most of the 2011. I was happy when they finally released this EP back in October so I could get more ambient chillwave tuneage from this trio out of New York. Looking forward to more from these guys in the future.


4) Of Monsters and Men: Into the Woods - Of Monsters and Men is the latest to harness the folky pop-party sound with dueling male and female singers a la Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes as well as another 2011 favorite, Grouplove. This is a band to keep an eye on in 2012.


3) The Decemberists: Long Live the King EP - 2011 was a busy year for The Decemberists between an LP, this EP, a full year of touring and the unfortunate breast cancer diagnosis for Jenny. Happy to hear she is doing better and finished the year back with the band after taking time off from their tour!


2) Phantogram: Night Life - Night Life is the follow up to the duo's fantastic 2009 debut Eyelid Moves. They pick up right where they left off and developed even more accessibility over the last 2 years. Go ahead, try and resist the infectiousness of the below track "Don't Move."


1) Black Books: An Introduction To... - I'm sure this is a shocker for anyone that follows this blog but it says something that I have listened to An Introduction To.. more than just about anything else in 2011. Looking forward to more great psych-fuzz rock from this Austin-based group as they prepare to unveil their debut full-length album on Valentine's Day in 2012. Screw flowers and chocolate! This is the perfect gift!

  

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