Ok, so I’ve never really been sure the definition of the EP before, but I always “knew” inside what it was, but for this post I decided to go to the all knowing wiki to find out:

An extended play (EP) is a vinyl record [CD, or music download] which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. An intermediate format between EPs and full-length LPs is the Mini-LP, which was a common album format in the 1980s generally containing 20–30 minutes of music.

This is a very short list of my favorite EPs of 2009, and it was totally dominated by Captured Tracks and Slumberland.

The Great Pumpkins favorite EPs (12″s and 10″s) of 2009

5.) The Bitters- Wooden Glove

Captured Tracks and Ben Cook (of Fucked Up// Young Governor) both make this list with Wooden Glove. I mentioned in my best of singles list that I like pretty much all of Ben Cook’s projects except the main one.  The Bitters‘ self proclaimed cave pop is pretty blissful, and something that I keep going back to.

[mp3] The Bitters- “Warriors.”

• buy it here.
• gprecs posts on the Bitters can be found here.

4.) Deerhunter- Rainwater Cassette Exchange

I was a little bit of a late comer as far as Deerhunter goes…but now I’m always happy to see a new release (or digital release…watch their blog).  Always top notch.  This EP was put out by 4AD//Kranky.

[mp3] Deerhunter- “Rainwater Cassette Exchange”

• buy it here.

3.) Dum Dum Girls- Dum Dum Girls

Lots of lo-fi girl rock this year, and Dee Dee does it better than most. Captured Tracks really did have a great first year.

[mp3] Dum Dum Girls- “Yours Alone”

• this record is out of print.
• gprecs posts on Dum Dum Girls can be found here.

2.) Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Higher Than the Stars

This record really gives the authentic 80’s vibe.  Thanks Slumberland.  This one came out in too many formats for me to keep track of (cdep, 12″, 7″, 12″remix).

[mp3] Pains of Being Pure at Heart- “Higher Than The Stars”

• buy it here (i’m specifically talking about the normal 12″ version, but i’m sure they are all rad).
• gprecs posts on Pains of Being Pure at Heart can be found here.

1.) Liechtenstein- Survival Strategies in a Modern World

These ladies top the girl rock category in my book, and all I can say is that I wish this had been even longer than it was (this record actually has pretty many songs on it, but it is so short).  A wonderful 10″ put out by Slumberland.

[mp3] Liechtenstein- “Roses in the Park”

• buy it here.
• gprecs posts on Liechtenstein can be found here.
• Slumberland had an amazing 2009 (topping both my EPs list, and my 7″s list).
  • gprecs posts on Slumberland can be found here.

Links:

• more Best Of posts can be found here.

This past Monday Dum Dum Girls played a show at Bruar Falls.  The show might have been last minute, or at the least not very publicized, but when I got there at a quarter after eleven the bar was packed.  Monday’s are typically a free show night at Bruar Falls, but no one seemed to have a problem paying five bucks to see one of Sub Pop’s newest acts.

I picked up the Yours Alone the 12″ EP that came out on Captured Tracks back in March, and have been pretty into that record.  The songs are solid, but I didnt’ really know how it would transfer to a full band format.  In July the Dum Dum’s played with Dee Dee fronting the band, and Mike Sniper, Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles (her husband), and Frankie Rose, but this show at Bruar Falls showed the Dum Dum Girls new line up…Frankie Rose is still on drums, but they are joined by Jules and Bambi.

The four ladies on stage were dressed to impress, and their music did the same thing.  The fuzzy lo-fi sound that I was expecting totally fell away, and the Dum Dum Girls brought loud,  slightly gothy, rock and roll to the audience.  The vocals and the guitars were crisp…it was perfectly wonderful.  For a band that has only played like 10 shows (or any band for that matter) these ladies totally have it together, and I was completely impressed.  I can’t wait to hear the full length that is slated for Sub Pop…it should be a great record.

The ladies played for just under45 minutes, and a couple of the songs were from records that I have heard, but the majority were new to me.  I captured a couple of them on video to share with you…if you happen to know the name of the last song…please let me know…as far as I know it is unreleased.

Dum Dum Girls- “Don’t Talk To Me” (G.G. Allin cover)

Dum Dum Girls- “Bang Bang”

Dum Dum Girls- “Jail La La”

[mp3] Dum Dum Girls- “Jail La La”

Dum Dum Girls- “untitled” (possibly unreleased)

See Dum Dum Girls live:

• 10/30/09- New York, New York @ Bowery Ballroom w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 10/31/09- Brooklyn, NY @ The Bell House w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 11/1/09 Philadelphia @ First Unitarian Church w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 11/12/09- Sonoma Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern w/ The Raveonettes & Crocodiles
• 11/27/09- San Diego, CA—> Art Fag Fest w/ No Age, Crocodiles, Best Coast, Ganglians, & Pearl Harbor (all ages)
• 11/28/09- LA, CA @ Spaceland

Links:

• more on Dum Dum Girls here.
• buy releases by Dum Dum Girls (and Dee Dee’s other band Mayfair Set) here.
• more on Captured Tracks here.

Welcome to the second official post in my segment called: This Week In Mail Order (and the second one this week at that!).

After resisting it for a couple weeks I finally bought the Dum Dum Girls second EP titled Yours Alone (thanks Marc for the recommendation). Yours Alone is a four song EP released by Brooklyn’s Captured Tracks.  Dum Dum Girls have been popping up on WNYU’s (Make The) Product, and Charleston’s SC’s best podcast Somebody Come and Play.

When I purchased my copy of this limited EP the guy from Captured Tracks told me the record was almost sold out, and that he thought about repressing it but that probably wouldn’t happen.  Dee Dee (aka Dum Dum Girls) posted on her myspace blog about the record this week:

I HAVE EIGHTY-FIVE MORE COPIES TO SELL, AND THEN THE PRESSING IS SOLD OUT. IF YOU ORDER A COPY BETWEEN MARCH 20TH & APRIL 29TH, YOU WON’T RECEIVE IT UNTIL THE FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF MAY BECAUSE I’LL BE M.I.A.

This Dum Dum Girls make great lo-fi noise pop that I have found particularly infectious. I even had to track down the digital tracks after I bought the 12″ so I could listen to it on the iPod.  Dum Dum Girls give us more than alot of the other lo-fi pop acts out there on this EP, and we should expect interesting things to come from her/them in the future.

Here are a couple tracks from Dum Dum Girls first EP titled Longhair that is now very out of print:

[mp3] Dum Dum Girls- “Ship of Love”

[mp3] Dum Dum Girls- “Longhair”

If you like these tracks you are sure to love the Yours Alone EP.

You can order the Yours Alone 12″ EP from Captured Tracks or from Dum Dum Girls (look for the PayPal links on their myspaces).  You might get the record faster if you order from Captured Tracks, because it sounds like Dee Dee won’t be around for a while.

If you are ordering from Captured Tracks check out their other releases.  They have some killer stuff out/coming out including: The new Woods’ The Dark 7″, and the Gary War Live on WFMU Cassette.

If you are in the New York City area try Academy Records in Williamsburg, or Other Music in Manhattan.  These two places tend to stock the Captured Tracks releases.

UPDATE 4/29/09: This has been repressed.  Original press was white cover, 2nd press’ cover on brown card stock.  Buy it here.

Gary War just released a very limed edition 7″ on Hell Yes! Records.  This record is limited to 400 hand numbered copies, and is a one sided 7″ featuring the song “Anhedonic Man.”

The record is available at Academy Records in Brooklyn ($7) or if you happen to catch Gary War live he should have some on the merch table (he did this past weekend).

The record is also available for mailorder from Hell Yes! via paypal.

Hell Yes! has some interesting releases scheduled for the future too:

BLANK DOGS one sided 7″
DUM DUM GIRLS / SAINT ROSE 2x one sided split 7″
CAPRICORNSS one sided 7″
VERMILLION SANDS one sided 7″