Not surprisingly, this list is filled with EPs by quite a few bands you know and quite a few you probably don’t. Of the ones you don’t know, many are likely from Washington; a quick count leaves me with five bands, or 1/4 of this list. Many of these bands I consider among the most promising artists to surface in 2009. All are worth checking out, and you’ll want to keep an eye on them as we head into 2010.

FensePost is excited to provide you with an exclusive sneak peek off the new Yarn Owl EP, Stay Warm, scheduled for release early next year. “Bicycle” is the name of the song, and it’s their catchiest track since “Yarn Blues”. Yarn Owl’s jangly guitars and dreamy folk-pop is emphasized by harmony vocals that echo in the band’s foreground.

With a heavy vocal echo and reverb cranked to eleven, Yarn Owl presents seven tracks of undulated upbeat pop. “Yarn Blues” kick things off; it’s a track we’ve heard before, but Yarn Owl gives it a revisit by speeding things up a bit and treating it with the reverb jangle heavy throughout Tiny Dots. One thing is for sure: this isn’t likely what you were expecting, coming from a cassette tape. Tiny Dots label Leftist Nautical Antiques is prone to release things in this form, and it’s …

I’ve fallen in love with “Yarn Blues” by Yarn Owl, a small pop trio out of my college town of Pullman, WA. The three attend Washington State University (my Alma Mater) and include on percussion Ted Powers (Ether Hour) and on bass Tim Meinig (Band Of Horses, Run River Run) and on guitar/vocals Javier Suarez. Javier’s demo, Note, Beat, Word Collection landed on my promo rack via a mutual friend.

Written by Fense
Yarn Owl is another group from Pullman (the town, not the band) musical mastermind Ted Powers, who again can be found on percussion. Like his prior concoction Ether Hour, Yarn Owl is distinctly pop. But where Ether Hour dropped in some folk elements, Yarn Owl is a bit more jangly.