So we all remember that we (the music blogger world especially) were floored when a new Sufjan Stevens EP came out of nowhere.  Well, this is beginning to be a bit of a pattern.  I was very happily surprised to see two EPs yesterday that had a hearty welcome from your truly and caught me a tad off guard.

First off, The Tallest Man on Earth came out of nowhere with “Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird” and is 5 tracks of seriously great tracks.  While they are clearly within TTMOE’s wheelhouse they are still just soo good.  The EP was recorded during a small break in his current epic touring schedule (which found a stop here in Calgary, and it. was. awesome.).  This EP is available on iTunes and is highly recommended for fans of Tallest Man.  And yes, it still has a Dylan feel, which is both a deserving and undeserving comparison, but that tale is for another time.  Listen:

“Like The Wheel” – The Tallest Man on Earth
Purchase the EP in iTunes

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Next we have another surprise, but not quite as much as above.  Sharon Van Etten has a new EP available on iTunes as of yesterday!  Why this isn’t as much a surprise is because I am very aware of the impending EP that is due out Oct. 5th on her BaDaBing! label, but the fact that there was an exclusive via iTunes early.  Great stuff.  The EP is 7 tracks with 2 being previously released as singles (One Day and Love More – the latter being a “demo version” that was available on eMusic only).  The EP is showing a growing sound by SVE in the way she is not necessarily providing only sparse singer songwriter tracks.  While yes, they are in that vain, but there are layers and much more production than previous efforts.  This is feeling like a step into a place she will be for her next full length, and I await it with bated breath.

So, I don’t have a promo track specifically (is there one?) and I am not about to dish out mp3s all willy nilly (did I just say that?).  So let’s listen to a recent unreleased track that Sharon provided me for our compilation over on Yer Bird Records to listen to…how ’bout that?

Sharon Van Etten: “Say So What” by Yer Bird Records

Purchase the new EP “Epic” on iTunes. Pre Order EPIC on BaDaBing!

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~Smansmith