Harlan-based band “Kudzu Killers” have released their first recorded work, a five-song EP titled “Appalachian Kaleidoscope Vol. 1.”

According to founding member Rick Brock, the band evolved out of a trio which included himself, Adam Brock and another musician.

“We got to sounding pretty good,” Rick said. “We got a fiddle player and dealt quite seriously in bluegrass for a couple years.”

The band progressed through an indie/folk period, eventually becoming the house band for Higher Ground, a production associated with Southeast Community and Technical College.

“We were put in a room with Greg Hollins and some other musicians that played electric music,” Rick said.

Soon after, they made the shift into a full band featuring electric instruments.

“We went through several combinations of people,” Rick said. “Adam was working with Tyler Smith…and Tyler came in as a guitarist.”

With the addition of Ross Bailey, Shyla Blevins and Greg Hollins, the line-up you hear on the EP was complete. Hollins has had to recently step away from the group, leaving a vacancy behind the drum kit that has been filled by Rick Jones.

Bailey and Jones have played together since 1968, Bailey said.

The lineup currently consists of front man Adam Brock (vocals, guitar, and harmonica), Rick Brock (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Shyla Blevins (keyboards, vocals, tambourine, guitar), Tyler Smith (lead guitar, vocals), Rick Jones (drums and percussion) and Ross Bailey (bass, vocals, sound engineer).

The EP contains originals as well as a cover song.

“It’s five original songs and one cover,” Adam Brock said. “I wrote ‘Bad to You.’ I brought it in and I was very nervous. Tyler came up with a really cool riff for it, everybody else kind of fell into it and it came together.”

Rick Brock and Blevins wrote “Timeless and True.”

“Rick has really good themes, and I like the sound of his lyrics,” Blevins said. “I just tweaked it and came up with a different chord progression for the chorus. It’s a good song.”

“Meant to Live” was Smith’s writing contribution to the album.

“I had about 85 percent of it done before I brought it to the band,” Smith said. “I had played it at some of my solo shows.”

Smith said he believed the song fit the Kudzu Killers, so he brought the song in.

“It’s more of an easy listening thing,” Smith explained. “It’s a feel-good song.”

The albums sole cover is the Beatles’ staple “Come Together.”

“It’s a cool one,” Adam Brock said.

Rick Brock penned the album’s closer, “Appalachian Man.”

“One of my issues is people that come into Appalachia and tell us what we’re going to be,” Rick Brock explained. “They come in for two weeks, take a snapshot and say ‘this is what we think you ought to be’ and then they leave. I have lived here all my life, and I know this place is a lot more complicated than that.”

Listening to the album, the material slides between a southern rock and soul feel all the way across the board to a classic country vibe. Smith says he has called the style “Appalachian Rock,” which seems to fit as well as any genre label could.

“Right now, in my opinion, Kentucky has some of the best music in the country,” Adam Brock said. “There’s a certain sound that’s like a mixture of rockabilly, old country, then throw some bluegrass in there, and then you’ve got whatever it is. That’s the beauty of this EP, each song sounds like who wrote it. It’s an eclectic mix.”

The album is currently available for purchase at the Kudzu Killers live shows, and is expected to be available at select locations soon. The band has shows scheduled Saturday at Banners in Lexington, on July 28 at the Lynch Invitational Tournament in Lynch and Jimmy’s Place at Norris Landing and Marina in Tazewell, Tennessee on Sept. 1.

For more information on upcoming shows, check the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/KudzuKillers/events/