Two years to the day since releasing the debut, "Cheeks of Neptune," Centipede E'est comes crawling back out of the woodwork with the four-song vinyl EP, "Surf Licks and the Wall of Sound for World Peace."

So, it's not the full-length release Centipede fans have hoped for, but it's something to tide them over until the CD hits.

"We mainly just wanted to release something on vinyl," says bassist Caulen Kress, "and our album is probably going to be too long to do so. We can't afford to do a double LP at this point."

Since forming in 2004, Centipede E'est has become one of the city's killer indie/psych rock bands, blowing minds and moving bodies with the duel-guitar attack and overlapping vocal antics of Jim Lingo and Nick Falwell, the crawling bass of Kress and the propulsive work of drummer Sam Pace. Friends and fans have even been tempted to call them a jam band, but, for the sake of the band, resist the temptation.

On the "Surf Licks" EP, Centipede puts its stabbing, slashing guitars to work on the almost-proggy seven-minute opener "Crawlin' Out West," which speaks of pioneers planting the flag and pillaging; the driving, funky and somewhat spastic "Oh Rosetta!"; a heavy, bass-driven "Paper Moon" with tight harmonies that explodes into a fierce showdown between Lingo and Falwell; and "Mirrors," a percussive song that recalls the quirky, jazzy funk of A.T.S.

"Most of it is recorded live," Kress says. "We really focus on getting a live version that all of us are happy with, which can be frustrating. Then we go in and add to the song/sound-world. We have recorded improvised jams in the past that are turned into songs, and we'd like to do more of it."

Either way, Kress says, a lot of songs develop through improvisation and then the esoteric words come later.

"Jim and Nick are responsible for that. I never have a problem with their lyrics -- they are both interesting writers. I feel like the part of the brain that deals with dreams also deals with rock lyrics -- and their dreams are insane!"

Part of the holdup for Centipede's release was that Lingo was on loan to the wordless Midnite Snake, which had a busy summer of touring and releasing its second record.

"We all love playing music more than anything, so it's hard for us to say no to working with other people," Kress says. "That said, Centipede E'est is the main band for all of us, and we're all committed to it."