The beauty of the EP

Brad Lindert

The EP is a beautiful thing. It’s not an album, but it is not a single. Four or five songs not on any other release are found on a CDEP or on 7-inch vinyl. And do you want to know what is better than just a normal EP? The split EP. Punk has been doing it for years with two bands joining up to contribute songs to a common recording. But, if you are like me, you don’t like punk anymore. Sure, when you were in 7th grade you liked Rancid and Green Day, but those days of pretending to defy authority are over.

With these changing times comes another form of the split EP. Thanks to Post-Parlo Records all indie kids can once again buy split EP’s without needing to wear NOFX shirts and have safety pins in their ears.

Home: The Post-Parlo Record Split CD Series combines two great indie bands and lets them run wild for four songs. On Volume four, Post-Parlo got Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame and Spoon lead singer Britt Daniel.

But the most important idea found in this simple recording is that Connor and Britt don’t just contribute two songs each. Yes, that would be nice, but Connor and Britt better that idea and play together on each song: “You Get Yours,” written by Britt, “Southern State” by Connor, and “Spent on Rainy Days” and “Let The Distance Bring Us Together” by both men.

If you know anything about the indie scene today, you know that Spoon and Bright Eyes are two of the greatest bands out there right now. It makes one wonder how an upstart label like Post-Parlo was able grab these two guys.

But, if these guys have huge egos due to their idol-like status among record store clerks and college DJs (myself included) it does not show in this recording. The EP finds these two musicians recording songs in Oberst’s basement over a weekend in April. The songs are equal part Spoon’s cool garage rock and Bright Eyes’ emotional folk.

My advice to you, whether you love Bright Eyes and Spoon or not, is to try to find this record. Go to postparlo.com and order yours right now; I mean it. I will even let you go order it now before you go on reading. Go!

Okay, are you back? Good, you’ll be glad you ordered it.

Why should you be glad? Well, for one thing, the EP is limited to a pressing of 2,000, so if you do get a copy consider yourself lucky. I know I do. But if you don’t get a copy there is no need to worry; they may record together someday. Some beautiful day where fantasy becomes reality, dreams come true, Connor and Britt record together every weekend, and people can buy split EP’s without having to listen to Clash and Sex Pistol rip-offs.

One can only hope that Post-Parlo keeps this series going for a long time to come, and that they can also keep getting this caliber of artists. Thank you, Post-Parlo, thank you.