2021 Year End Lists Chapter 4: The Top 10 EPs of 2021
is either a dying breed with too few songs to rack up meaningful streams or it's the only place where you can discover authentically good indie music anymore. Depending on who you ask. The reality of it is while the EP is mostly dead in popular music save for a few artists who could release literally anything and their fans would listen, it is a thriving medium in the underground. Part of me hates doing this list because 10 years from now we will know about some great EPs from artists who will break out in the next few years and this list will look completely different. But for now lets indulge with artists we know are good right now and count down the top 10 EPs of 2021.
10. Lil Mariko - Lil Mariko
Lil Mariko garnered quite a bit of attention with her appearance on Dorian Electra's My Agenda last year, but she was really just getting started. Her debut EP is a hyperpop meets hip hop meets metal fusion sort of like Poppy but with more rapped verses. Another difference between Mariko and her contemporaries is how overtly she wears her sexuality on her sleeve and how much of a crucial role it plays in her music. Highlights include an ode to catboys in the form of a drill rap song, an opening track all about the virtues of being a slut and a passive love song to "nasty, icky" sex that erupts into a brash metal banger in the second half. That's what you're getting into with this EP, you've been warned.
Listen To: Catboys, Hi I'm A Slut
9. Perfect - Mannequin Pussy
This is another short but unpredictable series of tracks that manages to find a way to blur the lines between hardcore and a dreamy almost shoegaze style of rock music. It's a versatile and well written collection that expands on Mannequin Pussy's continued journey through numerous different genres and styles. The brief thrash and bash hardcore cuts work surprisingly well alongside the dreamy, dense and frequently quite emotional anthems resulting in a 15 minute journey through the bands impressive musicality.
Listen To: Perfect, Pigs Is Pigs
8. Intimidated - Kaytranada
In just a few years Kaytranada has drastically expanded the reach of his music becoming one of the most respected and adored contemporary electronic producers. His ability to blend genres together seamlessly and his background in soul and jazz music give his sound a distinct flavor and allows him to work with H.E.R, Thundercat and Mach-Hommy all on the same short project with it all coming together seamlessly. While Hommy's socially conscious look at how Haiti has been treated is the EPs showstopper Kaytranada seems to always have the right answer for the artists he works with and this EP proves it even further.
Listen To: $payforhaiti, Be Careful
7. Last Year Was Weird Vol. 3 - Tkay Maidza
Since Frank Ocean became a world conquering multi-talented sensation a few years ago we have seen more and more artists emerge who blur the lines between pop star, R&B singer and rapper. Tkay has established herself as one of the best of the bunch and while her EP stumbles with it's opener and closer, everything in between is nonstop heat. She delivers bangers like Syrup and the Yung Baby Tate featuring tik tok hit Kim, in between R&B flavors and more personal cuts on tracks like So Cold and Cashmere respectively. At this point her talent is undeniable and this EP is just further proof that she is destined for a major breakout moment in the coming years.
Listen To: Syrup, Cashmere
6. Bloodslide - Bloodslide
So, Bloodslide. I guess you could call it a breakout project, but considering the band features members of two of post-punk's best modern acts Preoccupations and Protomartyr, they sort of started at the finish line. To add some pretty serious intrigue into the mix, AJ Lambert also known as Nancy Sinatra's daughter, handles the EPs vocals. The trio craft an absolutely brooding and heavy sound that features some anguished lead vocals across four expansive songs including a cover of one of Nancy's tunes. If you like Preoccupations or Protomartyr or just have a taste for the heavier more expansive side of post-punk then Bloodslide is a must listen.
Listen To: Pica, MVP
5. Future Proof - Erick The Architect
2021 was a great year for people who are fans of really smart rap music. While that will be more reflected in the longer lists later this week than it is here on the EPs list, Erick The Architect of Flatbush Zombies fame made his prescence known early in the year. These songs are a socially conscious set of jazz rap staples with excellent featured singers and focused, uncompromising lyricism. Erick dabbled in a lot of solo work this year and it all worked to prove that he is more than capable of carrying a really studio album all on his own and that's he will continue to be a name to watch out for as both a soloist and with the Zombies for a long time to come.
Listen To: WTF, Selfish
4. Lout - The Horrors
If the last time you really listened to The Horrors was on their landmark 2009 album Primary Colours then lets catch you up. The dreary post-punk revivalists that you remember are now an electronically tinged industrial rock band who penned three blistering insane industrial bangers. These three songs are raw, wiry, explosive and completely uncompromising and while they took some time to grow on me once they did I couldn't get enough. With the sounds of heavy distortion invading more genres than ever in 2021 The Horrors stood to prove that it can still make a rock song absolutely crushing in all the best ways on Lout.
Listen To: Whiplash, Lout
3. Just Until - Cordae
Cordae's From A Birds Eye View is one of the most anticipated albums coming out in the first half of 2022 and everything he's done so far seems to be building up to that point. Following up a very good debut album he dropped the Just Until.... EP to tide fans over where he showed off all new kinds of talent. He scored a Q Tip feature on the hook of the EPs intro track while also blending in perfectly with Young Thug on the trap banger Wassup. He proves his talent as a singer by crushing the hook on the gorgeous Dream In Color and tributes his mom in the heartwarming Thornton Street. He manages to succeed at everything he tries and thrive in brand new ways we've never heard before. We already knew he was one of the premiere young talents in the industry, and this EP only served to further increase his hype, if that was even possible.
Listen To: Dream In Color, Thornton Street
2. Vanishing Act 1: No Nouns - Clarence Clarity
I'm not the most pathologically journalistic music reviewer out there but I'm going to briefly break what barriers I normally abide by, Clarence Clarity fucking rules. Seriously there is something about his boyish reverbed vocals that make hooks just soar and his ear for sonic details is immaculate. Vanishing Act is a set of extremely futuristic electro pop bangers that deploy some heavy vocal manipulation and plenty of grating synth tones but still manage to be so utterly infectious. For an artist to be so unique and experimental in the details of his sound but still so instantaneously appealing takes the steady hand of a masterful creator and Clarence has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he is that creator. If there is a Vanishing Act 2, expect to see it here next year.
Listen To: Obsessed (With My Shadow Self), SuɃlord
1. Civilization II - Kero Kero Bonito
I love Clarence Clarity and Cordae as much as anyone, maybe more than anyone. But this year the #1 spot was an absolute slam dunk because Kero Kero Bonito released a few of their best songs to date on a versatile and frankly immaculate new project. I thought last years Civilization I was decent but far from my favorite thing the trio had ever made but Civilization II is a massive improvement in every way. The EP is just three tracks but they each go a long way to making it work. 21/04/20 is a sweet and soothing indie pop tune that fits in with much of what the band has been doing recently but with a quarantine twist. The closing track Well Rested is a massive world expanding sci-fi journey about the progression of the human species with Sarah calling out over top of the song like a lecturing deity. The cream of the crop is the opening track The Princess And The Clock a blissful fairy tale with spectacular world building in it's lyrics and one of the catchiest hooks of KKB's entire career. These three songs are about as good as a set of three tracks can get with enormous quality and a complimentary effect that heightens the project to be greater than the sum of it's parts. Everything about this screams that it's the most impressive and most necessary EP of the last 12 months.
Listen To: The Princess And The Clock, Well Rested
Thanks for reading check out the other three year end lists released so far below:
Follow the Music Corner Instagram here for updates on new lists and reviews and stay tuned tomorrow for the first of the big lists, The Top 100 Singles of 2021
