Since 2012, Rendez-Vous have been putting out some of the most compelling cold wave music out there with eerie earworms like “Distance” and “The Others.” Yesterday, the French band released Downcast, the follow-up to their 2018 debut Superior State, and it’s gnarly.

Rendez-Vous is Francis Mallari, Elliot Berthault, Maxime Gendre, and Simon Dubourg. For Downcast, Rendez-Vous disposed of the synths and picked up guitars. This easily could’ve been disappointing, but they exceeded expectations in this new sonic territory. The songs are invigorating blasts of grunge, post-punk, and garage rock; the genre doesn’t really matter, it’s all energy. The title track in particular is a trip, sounding like Bar Italia on steroids. The album closes with a reverb-drenched cover of Built To Spill’s “Carry The Zero.” Check out the record below.

Downcast is out now via Artefact/Wedge.