Nite Songs Best Of 2021: Top 10 EP's/Mini-Albums
Welcome to the traditional Nite Songs end of year rundown. As we did last year, we're gonna kick off today with our Top 10 EP's and mini-albums before kicking off the Top 50 countdown in earnest tomorrow. As you'll know if you've been frequenting our Singles Bar over the last 12 months, 2021 has been nothing if not a varied year as evidenced from the sheer variety of stuff making up this list from sugar-sweet power-pop to ferocious punk. Read on for our picks and hopefully we might just help you plug a couple of gaps in your collection then tune back in tomorrow as we start the albums list.
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10. THE SPANGLES - "Boys Just Wanna Have Fun"
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9. KISS ME KILLER - "2020 Vision"
One that we actually missed at the time, 2020 Vision is a confident debut from these Bristol lo-fi punks taking aim at gentrification, Sports Direct, Nigel Farage and cyclists in the best endearingly shambolic X-Ray Spex style. It marks Kiss Me Killer out as a definite prospect and hopefully a full album will be forthcoming from them in 2022.
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8. HAYLEY & THE CRUSHERS - "Fun Sized"
Signed to Rum Bar Records, Hayley & The Crushers specialise in sunshine-drenched pop-punk and their Fun Sized EP sounded like the bastard lovechild of the Ramones and the Go-Go's with tunes like Angelyne and Church of Flag (probably the poppiest ode to Black Flag you will ever hear) marking them out as a definite prospect to keep your eyes on.
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7. ED BORRIE - "West London Magic"
West London Magic was the second solo EP from former S*M*A*S*H* frontman Ed Borrie and shows him continuing to evolve his sound to good effect with female-fronted power-pop, Stax horns, bubbling keyboards and Bowie style glammed up post-punk. Proof that Borrie is a very deft musician and songwriter who can turn his hand to most things and still make them sound good.
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6. DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR - "Delusions of Grandeur"
A supergroup comprising of various off-duty members of the Hip Priests and the Bitch Queens, the debut EP from Delusions of Grandeur was exactly the sort of scuzzy pile-up you'd expect. With song titles like Shit's Fucked and Drinking My Life Away, this is exactly the sort of gloriously riffed-up nihilism you'd expect from a band with this pedigree and just as addictive as ever.
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5. THOSE FUCKING SNOWFLAKES - "Everything Is Absolutely Fkkkkd"
Hailing from Blackpool, this third EP from hardcore punks Those Fucking Snowflakes brought to mind the strange but enticing image of Jello Biafra fronting Gang of Four with the discordant tunes and sheer fury backed up with song titles like Uncooperative Crusties and Mendacious Meddling Milkshake Recipient taking righteous pot shots at the hypocrites on the political right wing of this country. Bring on that debut album.
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4. LAURA JANE GRACE - "At War With The Silverfish"
Laura Jane Grace's second release since the start of lockdown put Against Me!'s plans on hold for the foreseeable was a stripped back mix of acoustic introspection and some more post-punk influenced moments. Grace has proven in recent years that she's a hell of a versatile and talented musician who can take the punk template and twist it into all sorts of fascinating new shapes and At War With The Silverfish is further proof of her abilities.
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3. SEVEN DAYS AND DOESN'T DIE - "Seven Days And Doesn't Die"
One of the most ferocious records we've reviewed this year, this seven track mini-album from Seven Days And Doesn't Die showed Kit Swing and her group cranking up the ferocity to impressive levels from the Brody Dalle meets Cherie Currie vocals to the supremely tight and wiry riffs and drums and an impressive ability to vary the pace and style up when needed. If a full album's incoming in 2022 then suffice to say we're very much looking forward to hearing it.
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2. THE EROTICS - "Ride It To Death"
It must be something they're putting in the water in Albany, New York but the Erotics seem to have been enjoying a quality renaissance in recent years and following on from last year's brilliantly scuzzy Let's Kill Rock 'n' Roll album, Ride It To Death was another five slices of bruising knucklehead rock 'n' roll that hit you like a breezeblock and wouldn't let go. Sounding like Blackie Lawless or Wednesday 13 back when they were both good, this was top stuff.
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1. SAINT AGNES - "Vampire"
Another band who seem to finally be getting to the level of attention that they've always deserved, 2021 saw Saint Agnes starting to pick up plaudits in the mainstream press and on the evidence of Vampire, it was fully deserved with the band veering from tribal drum style intensity through to lurching gothy laments and doing it in fine style. 2022 might just be a very big year for this band and see them finally break out from being the underground's best secret into being full on rock stars. Here's hoping.
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Join us tomorrow when we'll kick off our Top 50 rundown of the year. Till then...
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