Forget cassettes–split EPs need to make a comeback. This recent one by fellow shoegazers Kindling (MA) and Kestrels (Nova Scotia) keep the casual spontaneity of that medium alive.There’s something truly freeing about making making music you know only die hard fans will hear and they take advantage of that playing an original and a cover that showcases their strengths and influences.

For Kindling, the heavy sway of “Wait” floats around in a messy, melancholic fuzz anchored by a drummer who hits with more force than most do in this genre. Meanwhile their cover of the Replacement’s “Can’t Hardly Wait” is pure heaven, lifting Westerberg’s romantic lyrics into a dreamy guitar haze that adds a heady euphoria to the already yearning song.

On the flipside, Kestrel’s “Octavio” is filled with bent guitars and breezy melodies that build up to a cathartic declaration of love. Choosing to cover My Bloody Valentine as a shoegaze band is kinda like covering the Beatles as a rock band (risky and intimidating) but they pull it off staying faithful to the bouncy playfulness of “Thorn” while bringing in glitchy keyboards to give it a more electronic feel.