10. Davie Allan & Joel Grind - Split (Relapse)
It's a pretty simple concept and fairly slight, even for an EP, but that doesn't take away from just how fun and replayable this was. Davie Allan, legendary instrumental guitar rock god, provides two songs, while Joel Grind, he of Toxic Holocaust fame, provides two more instrumentals. Just as fun as the B-movie cover art would leads you to believe.
9. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Dream Synopsis EP (Domino)
Oddly enough, I wasn't much sold on this Arctic Monkeys off-shoot's second album until I heard this EP at the end of the year. Recorded in just one day, this tackles two new versions of tracks from that album and four covers that they'd played out through the year. It brought the style and pomp that I'd felt the album itself was missing. A surprisingly successful Leonard Cohen cover and a take on The Fall's classic, "Totally Wired", lead the charge.
8. Gruesome - Dimensions of Horror (Relapse)
As it turns out, this tribute to the sound of Death has legs. Following up on the excellent 2015 full-length, this EP gives six more chances for the gruesome foursome to crank out perfectly embalmed classic death metal - no more, no less. Maybe not the most essential release of the year, but twenty minutes of this stuff is just about exactly the right amount of time.
7. Wolf Parade - EP 4 (self-released)
Although I seemed to be in the minority, I really loved their 2010 album, Expo 86, and was disappointed when this Canadian indie rock group went on their "indefinite hiatus" a year later. Thankfully it was only temporary and this four song release bodes well for future new material, even though it focuses more on the band's pop side and less on the knotty prog-influenced side I really love. Still, legitimately good indie rock is in short supply these days and this plugged a gap.
6. Aphex Twin - Cheetah (Warp)
For the second EP following the release of his stellar comeback album of sorts, 2014's SYRO, Richard D. James again went back to the well of nostalgia. The EP's title references a 1980s British electronics company, makers of the Cheetah MS800, an apparently unwieldy digital synth that disappeared quickly and was heavily used in the making of the tracks here. The tempos are slower, but it's just as dense, playful and energetic as James' best.
5. Dawnbringer - XX (self-released)
After six previous albums and two other EPs, Professor Chris Black (also High Spirits, Aktor, Pharaoh) announced the end of his long-running black metal project with this five-track, twenty-minute EP. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of the two previous full-lengths, this again serves as a nice reminder of why Chris Black is so well-regarded among certain circles of metal fans. Thankfully he'll be staying plenty busy with his umpteen other projects.
4. Chris Robinson Brotherhood - If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now (Silver Arrow)
This stopgap five-song EP that followed up on the well-received fourth album from Chris Robinson's post-Black Crowes jamband vehicle actually tops much of the material on the album itself, as one can testify by the live airings they've had, especially "Roan County Banjo". I know this isn't everyone's cup of dosed tea, but I'm a big fan of their cosmic groove and this EP only continues the roll they've been on.
3. Tombs - All Empires Fall (Relapse)
I've long been a fan of this Brooklyn blackened post-metal horde and, even with an already impressive back catalog, this EP pointed towards great things in the future. The band has reformed completely around founding member Mike Hill, but the addition of Batillus' Fade Kainer on keyboards and vocals brings a whole new dimension to the group's sound.
2. Ghost - Popestar (Loma Vista)
Either you are on board for Ghost's brand of Blue Oyster Cult hard rock or you're not and this new EP isn't going to change your mind, But if you find yourself in the former camp, you'll be in for a hell of a good time with this creatively titled EP. "Square Hammer" is one of the band's best songs since Opus Eponymous and all four of the backing covers help explain the band's twisted tastes and appeal. Who else covers Simian Mobile Disco, Eurythmics and Echo and the Bunnymen with such aplomb?
1. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc (Relapse)
Things have been fairly quiet on the ANb front for the past half decade or so, which is why it's such a pleasant surprise to have this in our ends. Ostensibly the first EP in a four-part series, with each release written by a different member, Arc finds Katherine "Kat" Katz up first. Over three songs in thirty minutes, Katz pushes the bands sound in a decidedly sludgier, noisier direction that absolutely suits her deeply personal, trying lyrics. It's an unexpected move from the grindcore legends, but even more powerful for being so.
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