The argument over singles versus EPs versus full-length albums has been raging for years, really ever since the rise of streaming services. Counterparts and End vocalist Brendan Murphy recently weighed in on why he loves the EP format during an interview with New Noise Magazine, though it doesn't have anything to do with streaming services and the business behind it all.
"Right now, if it were up to me, I'd want to do EPs for the rest of the careers of both of my bands," wrote Murphy. "Going in and doing six bangers in two weeks is so much cooler to me than going and spending five weeks in the studio and writing all these songs, cutting songs because one doesn't make sense or 'that's a B-Side,' doing the album rollout, and announcing an album that's out in six months. Because we booked the studio for five weeks, we had the material to do a full-length.”
Murphy also talked a little about why it's not feasible to only do EPs, saying that labels want full-length records to push.
"I know that all labels don't want to do EPs. They want full-length albums, and they wanna push it. There's more that you can do with a full-length record; I get that. I would love to do EPs. There is more freedom. We just did a heavy EP with six short, fast songs. What if we did an EP with four songs that were slower and more emotional? Then we do three songs, and it's back to normal Counterparts. I would love to do that, to go in and say, ‘OK, what do we feel like doing?'"
Counterparts surprise released their new EP Heaven Let Them Die earlier this year (check it out below) and announced a slew of North American dates with Pain Of Truth, Malevolence, and Foreign Hands. Get those dates below. Tickets are available here.
2/17 Toronto, ON History
2/18 Montreal, QC Club Soda
2/19 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom
2/21 Boston, MA House of Blues
2/22 New York, NY Irving Plaza
2/23 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
2/25 Washington, DC Howard Theatre
2/26 Charlotte, NC The Underground
2/28 Tampa, FL Orpheum
3/1 Atlanta, GA Masquerade (Heaven)
3/3 Dallas, TX South Side Ballroom
3/4 San Antonio, TX Vibes Event Center
3/6 Mesa, AZ The Nile
3/7 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
3/9 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades
3/11 Portland, OR Roseland
3/12 Seattle, WA Showbox
3/14 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
3/16 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
3/17 Lawrence, KS Granada
3/19 Madison, WI Eastside Bowl
3/20 Chicago, IL Concord
3/21 Lakewood, OH The Roxy
3/22 Detroit, MI St Andrew's Hall
