The EP format has one which has been long favoured, especially by many emerging bands – and, unlike a lot of other websites, championed here on ÜR – due to the many benefits it brings: an EP is much easier, much cheaper to record and release, can give listeners a quick and easy snapshot of what the band are all about, and also serve as a worthy stopgap between full-length releases, which is something that has made the format also increasingly popular with many more established acts, especially in the current COVID era. Sometimes, bands deliberately plan a series of interlinked EPs, deliberately formatted so that, when the finished “series” has been released, they basically formulate what could be seen to be a full album, without the hassle and strains of having to do it all in one go… Of course, that approach can be fraught with difficulties, such as the development and progression of the band’s sound meaning that the second/third/whatever EP is the series sounds totally different from the first – or a change in band members brings a new dynamic, which results in a similar end game.
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