For those not in the know, Spylacopa is something of a post-metal supergroup consisting of Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan), John LaMacchia (Candiria), Jeff Caxide (Isis/Red Sparowes), and Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies/Battle of Mice). As you might expect, you can hear bits and pieces from each members’ respective day job in this band. It’s a little difficult to pinpoint their sound at this stage, simply because each track on this EP is either significantly or drastically different from the one before it. What’s not in doubt though is that the music on Spylacopa is written and performed to the high standard you’d expect from a band of this pedigree, and despite how up-and-down it is stylistically, it’s plenty enjoyable.

Barring the graceful piano piece “Together We Become Forever,” there are four songs proper on Spylacopa. The first, “Haunting a Ghost,” is a pulsing, abrasive rocker with Greg Puciato switching between his familiar holler and melodic singing, while Julie Christmas gets more of a look in during the disturbing lurch of “Bloodletting.” The later half of this release is more interesting. “Staring At the Sound” is a strangely funky art-rock number featuring a smooth Puciato croon over a lumbering groove that isn’t unlike some of the more commercial moments on DEP’s Ire Works. Final song “I Should Have Known You Would” is the real anomaly though. Recalling some of Red Sparowes at their mellowest, it’s a laidback, acoustic-led number complete with prog-rock flourishes. The songwriting is very smooth and it’s an enjoyable track in itself though it does throw you a little given the EP’s hard-edged beginnings.

So with five very different but tasty little morsels, Spylacopa is quite the appetizer. While I’m not completely blown away at this stage, the quality and professionalism of this release can’t be denied and it certainly leaves me hanging for more, if only to find out which of the various directions displayed here the band chooses to go in. While hardly what you would call extreme, Spycalopa are an uncompromising and intense outfit consistent with the adventurous, forward-thinking spirit its various members are known for.