EPs of the year: readers poll results (part IV of V)

EPs of the year: #10–6

10

Peggy Sue & The Pictures
The Body Parts EP
Broken Sound Music 

Released: August 2008

On The Body Parts EP, Peggy Sue combine a soundtrack of nostalgic folk and buccaneer blues with modern, lyrical poetry full of drunken ocean voyages, love and disembodied anatomy. From the macabre yet playful clamour of dismembered limbs that grace the artwork, to their primary school-inspired, fancy dress stage outfits and treasure-and-heartbreak compositions, they seamlessly blend make believe with reality, and the result is a beautiful, surreal adventure. They are nautical poets, with heads full of rain-lashed, bittersweet music, and all the joy of children who raided the dressing up box [full review].

iTunes £3.16

 

9

My Brightest Diamond
Inside A Boy EP
Asthmatic Kitty

Released: May 2008

The music of Shara Worden lends itself unusually well to the art of remixing, as proved on last year’s Tear It Down, and this EP (a first taste of the album and the other two EPs she has since released) included some memorable reworkings from Tim Fite and celebrated newcomer Son Lux. With the dramatic orchestrations of the title track and the undulating, whispery swoon of exclusive B-side ‘I Had A Pearl’ also on offer, this was a fantastic start to a diamond year.

FREE MP3: My Brightest Diamond, ‘Inside A Boy‘ [Son Lux remix] [thanks to Pitchfork]

iTunes £1.99

 

8

Stars
Sad Robots EP
Soft Revolution / Arts & Crafts

Released: November 2008

Sad Robots makes for clever and intense listening, but nothing more so than the releases dotting Stars’ past. Instead, it’s another reminder of how powerful this band is, even though their power lies in a bleaker, more malaise-rich paradigm. But death makes life important, and understanding, even playing with such actualities, can be blissful. Just don’t expect this robot to ever have a smile on its face [full review].

iTunes £3.16

 

7

The Mountain Goats & Kaki King
Black Pear Tree EP
Cadmean Dawn

Released: October 2008

Perhaps most interesting for the chance to hear Kaki King accompanied only by piano and subtle electronica instead of her usual armoury of guitars on the doomstruck title track, plus the sweetly characterised Mario Bros.-inspired closer, Black Pear Tree is an interesting meeting of minds. Vocally, King is largely consigned to the background but her virtuosic guitar chops are what underpins the middle tracks and rescues them from potential mediocrity. Hard to get hold of, but worth the effort.

FREE MP3: The Mountain Goats & Kaki King, ‘Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle‘ [thanks to Pitchfork]

Not available on iTunes

 

6

Anaïs Mitchell & Rachel Ries
country e.p.
Righteous Babe 

Released: August 2008

Teaming up with good friend and occasional touring partner Rachel Ries, Anaïs Mitchell proves her mettle as a versatile writer and as a harmoniser par excellence. With commercial suicide not really a concern for these two relatively under-the-radar performers, they were free to concentrate on nailing the organic sounds and appeal of their onstage chemistry, letting the sentiment of the music speak for itself. Some of the loveliest duetting since Emmylou took up with Gram [full review].

iTunes £3.16

Written by: Wears The Trousers magazine

Tags: alan pedder, amy millan, anais mitchell, best of 2008, kaki king, my brightest diamond, peggy sue and the pictures, rachel ries, stars, the mountain goats

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 1:46 pm and is filed under All A/V, feature, retrospective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.