Hot Lunch are one of the finest purveyors of punk-influenced proto-metal today. Their sound splits the difference between punk rock and hard rock, blurring the line between the genres. Ultimately, all you can really say is that it’s loud, it’s heavy, and it rocks.

On their self-titled debut LP released in 2013 on Tee Pee Records, Hot Lunch provided a master class in the art of delivering rocket-fueled rock that didn’t skimp on attitude and creativity. It helps that they have a vocalist in Eric Shea who can belt with the best of the them, and a guitarist, Aaron Nudelman, who can rip.

It’s two years later, and the band is releasing a follow-up EP on Scion AV. The good news is that they haven’t lost any of the magic of their debut — in fact, this EP smokes. The one big difference between this and the debut, besides the actual length and number of songs, is that the EP focuses on the more aggressive facets of their sound, with five straight-up bangers that cut right to the chase.

The title track that opens the release is an up-tempo rocker, bolstered by Shea’s vocals and the high-impact riffs and mini-solos from Nudelman. “Expectations” is more mid-paced, and throws some psych-rock shredding into the mix. “China Banks” revs it back up to a high-speed hyper boogie, while “Pot Of Gold” has an energetic, knuckle-dragging lurch to it, allowing Nudelman to cut loose on longer solos.

“Living The Nightmare,” which is about the gentrification of the band’s hometown of San Francisco, starts off with Shea’s voice over acoustic guitar. It then explodes into electricity as the band kicks in, pauses briefly for another acoustic interlude, before getting back to the business of rocking out.

This EP showcases the band delivering the goods in a big way. If you enjoyed the debut, you will thoroughly enjoy this release.

(Scion AV, no address provided)