One of Connecticut’s finest purveyors of “left-field metal” return with another EP less than a year after their debut Bird Brains. It is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor in so many ways, and actually improves upon several aspects of their debut.

The songwriting is tighter, with smoother transitions between various forms of metal. Credit once again must be given to vocalist Christopher Baldwin, who puts in another excellent performance working his complete range from smooth croons to black metal rasps and everything in between. In addition, bassist Jessie May also handles guitar duties on this release and acquits herself quite well, coming up with a bunch of memorable riffs and accents to go along with the changes in style that happen in one of their songs. She is an able-bodied guitarist, though it isn’t her first instrument.

Opener “Fuck at Dawn” musically references Clutch with its high-speed boogie groove and Baldwin’s Neil Fallon-esque vocal delivery. But soon the song changes, and he adds a few death grunts into the mix to go with the Southern-tinged metal. “Ugly It Up” opens with a trad-metal flourish and then goes fast and punky before settling into a more mid-paced gait. “Jelly” starts out slow, but speeds up with some thrashy riffs from former guitarist Carlos Barrios to deep it nice and dirty. On this one, Baldwin’s vocals goes from a smoother croon to a black metal rasp at the drop of a hat. “The Violent Lights” closes the EP on a raging note.

The Cove avoids the sophomore slump and establishes the band as one of the more eclectic and interesting bands in the Connecticut metal scene.

(self-released, no address provided)