The 10 Best EPs Of 2023
The short form releases in 2023 that made a long impact.
While albums rightfully take up most of our attention as music fans, the EP can still be an effective way of conveying an artists’ music. These were my 10 favorite EPs from 2023. Every EP is linked for your listening pleasure, and I put together a Spotify playlist of a song from each EP at the bottom.
Letting loose a bit, Sophie Allison covers some of her favorite songs and turns them into breezy indie rock versions of themselves. LISTEN
Crushed bring a unique brand of dream pop to the table, and their breakout EP makes them a group to watch. LISTEN
This set of extra songs from the sessions of Angel’s last album continue that record’s strong work. LISTEN
One of Ghost’s more underrated skills is covering other artists’ songs, and the Phantomime EP puts that skill at the forefront. The five songs they pick are fairly unconventional for them, but they add their signature Satanic spin to them all. Their version of “Jesus He Knows Me” is most devilishly fun. LISTEN
If you just couldn’t get enough of this duo’s wildly entertaining brand of rap music this year (and I know I couldn’t), you’re in luck. The fun continues on the DLC Pack of an EP, with four more tracks that further prove these two should never make music apart from one another again. LISTEN
If releasing one of 2023’s best albums wasn’t enough, the superstar trio went and made one of the year’s best EPs as well. Their chemistry is unmistakable on all four tracks, with “Powers” standing out the most to me. LISTEN
If you’re in the mood for a balls to the wall 80’s throwback experience, listen no further than New Paradise I. The level of cheese throughout this is turned up to 11, resulting in one of the more fun listens of the year. LISTEN
I never thought I’d be here telling you that a hardcore band’s music is nearly as good when turned into soft jazz, but here I am. The re-workings of these three tracks from GLOW ON are genuinely beautiful. LISTEN
If Lucifer On The Sofa was Spoon’s most rock ‘n’ roll record, then Memory Dust is their most rock ‘n’ roll EP. The tightly made nature of that 2022 record translates into these songs that came from those sessions but didn’t make the cut. “Sugar Babies” is especially electric. LISTEN
Not many k-pop groups have burst onto the scene with the flare that NewJeans did in 2023. Their mixture of k-pop with the stylings of late 90’s and early 2000’s pop music captured nearly everyone’s attention, and for good reason. Every song of this EP is groovy and catchy, each with little moments that’ll stick in your head. There’s the horns on “ETA”, the skittery synths on “Super Shy”, the wispy voices that ebb and flow on “ASAP”, just to name a few. I can’t think of many other k-pop debuts that are as good as this one, so get ready to hear a lot from this quintet over the next few years. I know I’ll be listening. LISTEN
More from my 2023 List Week:
Worst Music: https://cfreemon.substack.com/p/the-worst-songs-and-albums-of-2023
Honorable Mentions: https://cfreemon.substack.com/p/2023-honorable-mentions-songs-and
Top 100 Songs: https://cfreemon.substack.com/p/the-100-best-songs-of-2023
Top 50 Albums: https://cfreemon.substack.com/p/the-50-best-albums-of-2023