top 10 eps of 2011.

surprisingly 2011 was the year of ep releases. i'm sure i didn't listen to so many eps in the last few years. never thought i'd have a problem to narrow it down to ten but that's exactly what happened. i think i'm quite happy with the outcome anyway. i've been praising the top 3 eps a lot before, so they're probably no surprise after all. but that only shows again that these eps are simply great. so here's my top 10 ep ranking.

1. goldtrip - 'i try'

the lads from goldtrip made me learn to appreciate twitter, because without twitter i probably would’ve never found out about them. the goldtrip sound combines many different genres – from rock and pop to indie, and i would even throw a bit of folk in there as well. it’s hard to nail it down to one genre because the 'i try' ep just has quite a few different sides to it. even though their lyrics deal with love, loss and sorrow, they manage to create a warm and genuine sound that is live hopefully even better. i’m going to find out in january and i’m already very much looking forward to that. if they can deliver the same brilliance on stage as they did on this ep, they definitely deserve the first spot in this ep ranking. 

 goldtrip - 'i try' (title track)

2. ahab - 'kmvt'

people who’ve read this blog before should not expect any new insights on ahab here. i just can’t come up with any more superlatives. ahab simply restored my faith in country music, especially since i was taught that they’re not doing folk music. their sound may be based in country but i think you can’t deny some folk elements nevertheless. after living in the united states, i was determined to shut country music out of my life. as you can see, it didn’t quite work out. but honestly, how can someone resist those beautiful harmonies? absolutely gorgeous lyrics combined with a catchy beat – that’s all you could possibly ask for and that’s definitely what you get. and it’s certainly worth mentioning that they’re live actually a million times better, even though that might be quite hard to believe after an ep like 'kmvt'.

ahab - 'where's the one you love' live (track 5 on 'kmvt')

3. natalie mccool - 'black sun'

natalie’s strongest feature is definitely her voice. sadly i haven’t had the chance to see her live yet but if her vocals are live just nearly as perfect as they’re on 'black sun', i know i’m going to be speechless when i actually get to see her perform live. many things set her apart from other ladies in the pop genre – her sound is quite dark and that’s what makes her songs so mysterious. her lyrics are honest, actually quite impressive, and her (acoustic) guitar is somewhat of a trade mark. if she continues to deliver such amazing tunes, the future probably has a lot in store for her and she certainly deserves to be heard by thousands of people.

natalie mccool - 'your hero' (track 3 on 'black sun')

 

4. jp cooper - 'jp cooper'

jp cooper - 'oh brother' (track 1 on 'jp cooper')

5. the gramotones - 'the gramotones'

the gramotones - 'exile' (track 1 on 'the gramotones')

6. stornoway - '4ad session'

stornoway - 'here comes the blackout' (track 3 on '4ad session')

7. marcus foster - 'tumble down'

marcus foster - 'you send me' live (track 3 on 'tumble down')

8. ben howard - 'old pine'

ben howard - 'follaton wood' (track 3 on 'old pine')

9. dry the river - 'weights & measures'

dry the river - 'weights & measures' (title track)

10. dog is dead - 'confessions'

dog is dead - 'young' live&acoustic (track 1 on 'confessions')

and that's it again for now. a post with my top 10 songs of 2011 will be up tomorrow (hopefully).