As singles continue to dominate charts and listeners’ attention, EPs are becoming more and more important. In the underground especially they’re a crucial platform for quick yet brilliant ideas, introductions and reintroductions, and lightning-in-a-bottle moments. 108MICS’ top five list is full of brilliant examples. These works are the best of a uniquely essential format; these are 2020’s best EPs.
5: Bleachh – 01
Soundcloud |Matter | Spotify | Apple Music
“01” is where Bleachh figured out Bleachh. Following a name change and a slew of singles – some great, some okay, some drawn from his back catalogue – the Toronto rapper-producer cemented this new identity with an EP full of sweet beats, neat features, and sharp, crisp vocals. This new incarnation was, clearly, all about fun, without sacrificing any of the artist’s emo-inspired edge. Between the slam of “Snakes” and the bounce of “Ball Like Highschool” are tunes that keep searching for something emotionally and artistically grand. – Jamie
4: Big Gucci Krow – BLESSED LIFE VOL 2
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music
Throughout the past year, Krow has shown us that his rapping is just as vital to the culture as his producing. I glowingly reviewed his Book One project in 2019, and while he stuck to shorter releases this year his output has been no less impressive. The second of the two Blessed Life releases stood out as my favourite, seeing the Souless member speak nothing but facts on three uber gritty anthems that rank amongst his best material to date. Rapping over beats as hard as nails as they are buttery smooth, Krow has continued his winning streak in 2020 and will likely impress even more in 2021. – Chris
3: Osquinn – bleh
Soundcloud | Matter |Spotify | Apple Music
Osquinn’s ‘bleh’ seems like it was released forever ago in 2020’s climate; alas, osquinn has simply evaded any sense of stagnation, and her meteoric rise paired with her frequent output has simply seemed to dilate time. Kicking off the summer right, this pair of blackwinterwells-produced tracks rank among Quinn’s best, with the synth-heavy midtempo ‘anything’ ringing a more personal and somber tone, while ‘ok im cool’ remains unrivaled in the balance of accessibility and experimentation found within the hyperpop scene. – Arctic
Osquinn does more with two tracks than most do with ten. “bleh” is gut punch after gut punch; on “anything” the vanguardist ruminates on the fragility of trust, on “ok i’m cool” she tries valiantly to compress the shadow of massive emotional damage. These tracks, sublimely produced by blackwinterwells, are a response to being “left… out to rot”, with harsh juxtaposition between lyrical and instrumental content. They are rich with faded musical colour, washed away by the harsh light of pain; each line is jagged not like a knife, but like a scar. – Jamie
2: Fax Gang – FxG3000
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp
“FxG3000” is as concrete a debut a band as maniacal as Fax Gang could hope to have. The instant pounding energy of “Breathe2 (In/Out)” is perhaps the year’s most gripping opening track, with undeniable power in each bitcrushed beat. The chaos continues, in places overwhelming frontman and lyricist and frontman PK Shellboy, but the record is just so ridiculously huge and original that this is often hard to notice. Fourth track “Centrifuge” is bursting at the seams with noise but the PK’s raps pull through, closer “Jeopardy” is industrial in sound and scale, “Jailbroken” burns through its own musical wiring. The group are making deservedly immense waves off of this debut, and are on track for incredible things in the next year. – Jamie
1: Efemmeral4ever – MDMA (Misses Dead Malls of America)
Efemmeral4ever’s three-track anticapitalist thunderstorm succeeds more than any other project this year at utilising the EP format. In under ten minutes there are strained, scraping vocals cracking with intensity, explosive EDM production, and the epitome of Gen-Z faithlessness; “I can’t pretend to give a shit about this place ‘cos we’re all gonna die, it’s not really a secret”. Without a wasted breath Efemmeral and guest vocalist Nari slander our broken system to no end. They throw a rave on the wreckage of the world, and every glowing second is glorious. – Jamie
To me, Efemmeral4Ever’s stunning debut EP MDMA represents the apex of experimentation in the SoundCloud scene. Whatever you want to label it (I’m a big fan of the Pog Rock tag myself), this three track release is technically mind blowing. The glitzy yet grimy drum and bass-influenced production is jaw-droppingly intense, never once bowing to convention in its quest to create a truly unique, emotionally affecting product. It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes E4E’s vocals so impressive, but what is clear is that the strength and volume of the emotion in her singing here is unlike anything else I have heard this year. The throat-shredding hook on ‘Echo Forever’ flawlessly blends the human aspects of the artist’s voice with some of the most insane effects that Hyperpop as a movement has ever bore witness to. Like a cyborg doomed to dance the apocalypse away inside an empty department store, E4E screams into the void with the power of a thousand disenfranchised voices. Simultaneously raw and immensely polished, MDMA is the year’s only truly perfect pop project and a shining example of the kind of amazing music that this endlessly evolving scene is capable of producing. – Chris
– By 108MICS Staff: Chris (@108seraph), Jamie (@youngjade1216), Arctic (@907arctic)
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