Corner Gospel Explosion dropped its four-song “Before They Drag Me to Hell” EP last week, and there’s a lot to unpack.

First, there’s the release strategy: The “knock-your-socks-off” indie rock duo, featuring brothers Bradley and Tyler Parsons, announced its second full-length album and first as a two-piece, “It’s Hard to Be a Kid,” in December, along with releasing this EP’s insanely catchy title track as a single. The EP is part one of the album; the second part is due March 7 while part three arrives April 7.

Then there’s the music itself. “It’s Hard to Be a Kid” is a concept album that delves into drummer/vocalist Bradley and bassist Tyler’s experiences growing up in a Pentecostal household (the duo are now 27 and 23, respectively), and weighs some pretty heavy questions about the relationship between faith and fear. The initial single certainly delivered on this idea, juxtaposing an upbeat melody and rhythm with a claustrophobic tale of demon-induced insomnia. EP closer “Where Do the Bad Folks Go?,” goes hand-in-hand: a treatise on the underworld that ends with the narrator seemingly rejecting predestined, afterlife punishment in favor of self-determination (“It all comes down to yes or no to set the path of our own soul.”)

The theme is further driven home by samples of preachers delivering fire-and-brimstone sermons. “Falling Down in Church,” perhaps the most deeply personal track here, features recordings of people speaking in tongues, mixed in with the dense, swirling music to chilling effect (the song deals with the practice of being “Slain in the Spirit” — when believers are so overcome with the Holy Spirit that they faint or fall to the floor).

Musically, there’s a definite through-line from earlier CoGo releases — the Parsons brothers were always the band’s heart and soul, after all. Tyler deserves mention for doing much of the heavy lifting: He recorded his parts with the same “mega rig” he uses live, allowing him to cover tonalities usually handled by guitar; the clear recording lets him show off just what he can do in this new setup. Coupled with the (more often than not) dark subject matter, the upbeat, dance-happy rhythms take on a menacing quality that was only hinted at in the band’s previous work.

Surprisingly, the EP works on its own, like a mini-concept album within a concept album. However, once all three EPs are out online, the duo plans to reconfigure the track list for a physical release of the full album — so it’s too early to say how well the idea hangs together. Still, this is an impressive start.

— By Brian McElhiney, The Bulletin