5 out of 5

Label: Expert Work Records

Produced by: Shane Hochstetler

Gathering up pieces of Chicago, New York, Texas, and DC-style instrumental rock and simmering above a Midwest angsty base, the band Coward came and went in the early 2010s with a single album, seemingly mastering the above shtick and then declaring their stamp on the industry complete. Expert Work Records appreciably followed up a handful of years later to release five tracks which were intended as a followup, bringing in producer Shane Hochstetler to make what sounded great sound even greater.

The Coward formula tickles a lot of “sounds like” vibes that become derivative when they’re not executed by those they sound like, avoiding this by always grounding a song in songcraft and melody instead of exclusively that vibe. And sure, that’s easy to subjectively say about any ol’ song, but the band tends not to want to Wow right out of the gate, instead establishing a feeling before bringing in those RIYL elements – which essentially means the group prioritizes their own identity, one of the harder things to do in a crowded music landscape.

Songs on the EP float through elements of krautrock; angular stuff comes in from left field to add a punch to a soothing melody; smooth flows remind of the fiddly rock of SixGunLover Records, or the jazzy and proggy influences found in DC or NY acts, like Darediablo. Midwest push-and-pull – a forever stewing pot – makes this a perfect Expert Work Records release, and the tunes sound just as good ten years+ on as they would have if released back in 2014. While there’s likely an argument that this doesn’t much evolve the group’s sound beyond their debut, boiling it down to five songs is a precise punch that makes for zero filler, and thus harder to argue with; additionally, Hochstetler’s punchy handling of the sound absolutely adds a new layer of confidence and rawness to things.