It's completely up to you (stating the obvious) I want to simply point out options to you so you make as informed a choice as possible. I don't know what you already know or anywhere close to what your opinions and desires and understanding are, so I'm sorry if I go through stuff you already know and you have already considered all that I mentioned or will mention below.
You seem to be looking at things in black and white, when there are many many shades of grey. I might be wrong but I'm just going by your original post and your replies so far.
What you put on your EP and what you perform are two different things. Of course you perform the singles as part of your live show, but you can perform songs you have not yet released (just make sure to register them with the American government, even if outside the US).
The idea is to release singles, EPs and albums where:
you start to warm the market and grow your fan list with a single
then release another single
then an EP or another single
then release an album that contains your previously released songs (perhaps with different arrangements, changed ending, remixed)
At each stage, marketing wise, you try and grow your prospect list and fan list so that when you eventually release the album hopefully you will have some fans that will buy it or download it.
It gives you a few bites at the cherry and means when you release your album you have some instant buyers which might help you chart and therefor hopefully grow your fan list some more.
By going straight for an album you risk putting all your eggs in one basket, and when you do release your album it is into a void so an otherwise good album falls completely flat.
I am only concerned that you go to the huge effort of recording an album (which is not a small undertaking or expense) and then it goes nowhere. The plan I suggest above would allow you to spread the cost... even if you give tracks away as free downloads doing your release process in this way really helps you make the most of your songs when it comes to attracting fans.
I have seen soooo many independent artists record albums and release them without a release plan other than "record/Master/release album" and then their otherwise excellent albums disappear into nothing. It can be hugely depressing and taints something that you may otherwise be proud of. Weirdly I see them do this repeatedly and wonder why they are going nowhere.
Try not to view it as a simple single or EP release... those are just part of the album release. Even if your single and EP are only released online it is still a worthwhile process.
Last thing I would say is about your concern over being under pressure to produce the goods.... surely you want to do your songs as well as you can? To be as good as they can be. The fact is you wil want to be proud of your album too. Why not do drafts of all the songs and pick what you thing are the best singles from what you have and then simply polish those up to finished recordings first? the emphasis being that you simply deliver what you consider to be the best singles, rather than setting out to write a fantastic, ideal song. It certainly allows you to get passed the hurdle and some of the pressure. While not ideal many find it an effective method. Things are rarely black and white because at the end of the day we have to be realistic about what fits with our lives.
I hope you decide what to do soon,.