2024 Wrap-Up: EPs
To look back at a spectacular year, we’ve ranked our top five EPs of 2024.
8 min read
2024 has been a brilliant year for new music. After covering our top albums, it’s time to acknowledge some of our favourite EP’s. These projects are bursting with fresh sounds or a hint of magic that’ll help them remain relevant for years.
Credit: Amy McDermott 📸
5) An Exorcise In Anger - Alexandra Leaving
Coming in at number #5 is Alexandra Leaving’s debut EP, An Exorcise In Anger. Releasing over the Summer, it’s a solid debut and sets the direction for a new alt-rock star ready to put her foot down and claim a top spot one day.
Hailing from Shropshire, Alexandra Leaving draws influences from Wolf Alice, Mitski, The Kills and PJ Harvey. In less than a year, she’s accrued over 65,000 streams and garnered support from the BBC, Radio X, Amazing Radio and Apple Music.
Catch our interview and full review here.
Credit: Jaw Midnight 📸
4) DEAD FOREVER - Kid Brunswick
After navigating a web of label complications that resulted in 18 months of no music, Kid Brunswick triumphantly returned with colossal festival appearances and his first major headline tour of the UK in 2024.
However, this was to be bittersweet, after the announcement of DEADFOREVER - the finale to his 5+ year project. DEADFOREVER is another incredible offering from the alt-rock artist, with track highlights coming from Stockholm and Out Of Style, which features Beauty School Dropout.
The EP was unexpected and opened up theories as to what’s next.
Credit: swim school 📸
3) Seeing It Now - Swim School
2024 was a huge year for Scottish trio Swim School. After supporting The Amazons, they focused on their debut headline tour and another EP. Seeing It Now was a six-track EP which included three new tracks, two new renditions and an epic cover.
The lead single Give Me A Reason Why ‘is a belter you’d scream in the car, and for a moment, everything feels a little better’. On the contrary, To Grow was a beautifully written love song which took on a life of its own during the Spring tour.
Swim School have always been tipped as one to watch. This EP just opened everybody else’s eyes, and if you’re not paying attention, you’re seriously missing out.
Credit: Charlie Wright 📸
2) Lagos Paris London - Yannis & The Yaw
It’s hard to believe the birth of Yannis & The Yaw was this year. The collaboration we never knew we needed has opened the doors to an exciting and ever-changing collaboration project for the FOALS frontman, Yannis.
Yannis & The Yaw began as a chance encounter between Yannis and Tony Allen (Fela Kuti) during a period of experimentation after What Went Down. The pair met in a Parisian studio and immediately connected over a shared love for music. When Allen tragically passed away in 2020, Yannis knew he had to finish the work.
Lagos Paris London was the outcome of those studio sessions. The EP is a perfect blend of Yannis’ thumping riffs alongside Tony’s afrobeat drums. After two mini-tours, the project is destined to say, with the ‘Yaw’ becoming a revolving door of collaborators. Catch our review of their recent show in London here.
Credit: Conor Blaides 📸
1) Dirty White Lies - Basht.
Dirty White Lies is the debut EP from Dublin five-piece, Basht. It’s a momentous introduction to a band ready to take the world by storm and a faultless example that rock n’roll is far from dead. We’d go as far in saying, that this prodigious collection has formed one of the most electrifying debut EP’s in years.
The band have had a busy few years, supporting Wunderhorse and even headlining their own tour with a stop in London and Manchester. After the arrowhead single Gone Girl, we crowned Basht. your new favourite band.
The EP is a tumultuous journey of toxic love and abusive relationships, told in two distinctive parts. Dirty White and Gone Girl are pent-up, chaotic and fiery, full of hopeless promise and sacrifice, evocative of a love rush. Whereas Wild Horses and This Isn’t About You unlock the gates to a progressive and expansive sound full of introspection, realisation and detachment.
Honourable Mentions:
Outside of our top five, there is an endless collection of other excellent EPs. We can’t let them go unnoticed, so here are our honourable mentions for 2024:
When Night Turns Into Day - Telebox
I Hit The Town And The Town Hit Back - Nixer
2005 - South Arcade
Born To Be Average - Carpark
What was your favourite EP of 2024?
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