The (music) year is over – it’s LIST TIME. And as I’ve done in prior years, I like to start off with my favorite EPs of the past year. These short collections are often the best way to get exposed to the work of a new or up-and-coming artist, or a nice tide-over from a big artist that’s a little too busy touring to churn out a full LP. Whatever the case, these five releases blessed our ears this year and deserve to be heard by all.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Aerosmith x Yungblud – One More Time
The classic rockers sound revived and alive with the help of the British rising star.
The Iron Roses – AGITPOP
Three great politically charged ska-punk songs.
The Mendozaz – The Completely Fictional History of this Great Nation of Canada
Wry and extremely catchy punk rock from the great white north.
**
#5. Jared Hart – The Condor
I was already a fan of Hart’s band Mercy Union, and if you are as well, these four songs aren’t too big of a departure from that group’s folk-leaning brand of punk rock. From the gritty, emotional title track to the Springsteenian “Allnighters”, Hart reps the Jersey punk sound well. “So it Goes” will be played on acoustic guitars by young punks for years to come.
#4. Cinema Stereo – Can’t Get Close Enough
I felt blindsided when first hearing this EP, not expecting it to be as great as it was. Who was this rock band that had the gaul to incorporate latin drums and mystic guitar lines in their opening track (the excellent “Acercate a Mi”), and then go balls-to-the-wall stadium rock just after, and make it work? With sharp playing and vocals that go from a Steven Tyler-shriek to warm power pop harmonies (“Can’t Get Close Enough” sounds like a lost 70’s nugget), these guys are a studied rock n’ roll band who have me excited to hear what’s next.
#3. The Drew Thomson Foundation – Somewhere Else
I feel like The Drew Thomson Foundation is one of those under-the-radar artists that one day is going to just be widely considered huge thanks to his deep catalog of excellent work (think Jeff Rosenstock). His EP from earlier this year is simply a collection of four, perfectly written pop rock/emo adjacent songs filled with clever lyrics and sugary hooks. “Styrofoam” finds Thomson “praying for a miracle, when the cops wouldn’t let you go”, letting his storytelling savvy enrapture listeners with his mile-a-minute delivery. And “Somewhere Else” is probably the most fun take-down of a hometown and desire to escape ever written.
#2. Bright Eyes – Kids Table
A couple years ago I got a big drunken hug from Conor Oberst at Zebulon, and his new EP is just as wonderful as that. Oberst and his band are still masters at heart-tugging, poetic folk (“Sharp Cutting Wings (Song to a Poet)”) and delectably smart indie rock (the Hurray for the Riff Riff-assisted “Dyslexic Palindromes”). But I don’t think anyone foresaw the former Millenial mope king getting his skank on with the excellently topical “1st World Blues”. I’m certainly ready for a full-on Bright Eyes ska record now.
#1. The Young Hearts – The Good, The Bad, & the Rest of Us
From the moment I heard The Young Hearts‘ “Somewhere Through the Night” a couple years ago, I knew I had found a band that was right up my alley. I started following them, and with every new song dropped from this year’s EP, I became a bigger and bigger fan. Writing the same kind of melodic punk as groups like The Gaslight Anthem, infusing big, sweeping choruses and emotional hooks into tracks like the yearning “Hell or High Water” or the Springsteen-level title track. The songs here are big, bold, and destined to make your heart burst with the kind of romantic notions that only the best rock n’ roll can provide.
**
Listen to all of these EPs in our Top EPs of 2025 Playlist!
The Indy Review 