10 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal EPs Of 2017

Thanks to their harmonious union of hard-hitting rock and vitriolic punk, the UK’s Courtesans are one of the leading lights of the contemporary alternative scene. Returning from the abyss back in March with their Better Safe Than Sober EP, coming almost four years after their debut album 1917 (2013), the quartet proved that their time away from the studio has not dampened their addictively dark song-writing and rebellious, despondent attitude.

Blending the sorrowful timelessness of traditional doom rock with the melodies and accessibility of contemporary post-grunge, Better Safe Than Sober is a five-song trailblazer of undiluted emotion. The heaviness of frontwoman Sinead La Bella’s lyrics and down-trodden delivery are rivalled only by the crushing power of Saffire Sanchez’s muscular guitars. Songs like the ever-building lead single “Mesmerise” bring the despair and the soul, while a rowdy opener like “Knowhere” channels the attitude and grit of Hole or early Soundgarden.

Truly, Better Safe Than Sober is one of 2017’s best extended plays, bolstered by a big single and undying charisma from the four women that made it.