Frustration has barely blown out its twentieth candle, yet the band is already celebrating another major milestone: the release of their highly anticipated sixth album, Our Decisions. Frustration embodies the flawless journey of the wild children of French rock—from their tumultuous beginnings within the aptly named Happy Family, the DIY rock collective centered around the Parisian record store Born Bad, to their gradual establishment in the French and European underground punk scene. From their rise in the early 2010s to their transformation into a unifying force across all rock’n’roll tribes, Frustration has written one of the finest chapters in French rock history, becoming one of its most defining figures. By now, that much is clear to everyone.

Yet despite their success, Frustration’s members have never abandoned their integrity and humility—the very qualities that make the band so compelling. They have never stopped delving into the depths of the human soul, into depression and madness, questioning the ecological dilemma, observing our collective headless rush with astonishment, and further exploring punk’s no future legacy. The band proves that punk rock can indeed be mature and grown-up.

With six albums, each essential in its own right, Frustration has explored every niche of cold wave, post-punk, and British punk—never hesitating to venture into dark wave and gothic-industrial territories. Four years after their fifth album (So Cold Streams) and following a string of festival appearances this summer (Hellfest, Rock en Seine, Eurockéennes...), Frustration returns with their sixth album, Our Decisions, ready to shake up the French rock scene once again.

This sixth work takes us deeper than ever into darkness and madness. The album title, paired with its modern-apocalyptic artwork—masterfully executed by the band’s loyal artist Baldo—serves as a final call to reason, hurled into the face of a humanity suffocating under the absurdity of its own decisions. The ten tracks form a dark, coherent, and unique blend of ice-cold cold wave (Path of Extinction, Omerta, Pawns on the Game, Consumés), dark and morbid punk (State of Alert, Catching Your Eyes, Secular Prayer), nihilistic post-punk (Pale Light), and minimalist, stripped-down electro-industrial (Riptide). And finally, as the only glimmer of hope, Vorbei—a tender love declaration in duet with Anna, singer of the Rouen-based minimal wave band Hammershøi.

The perfect balance between the instruments—the haunting voice of singer Fabrice, the sharp and furious guitar of Nicus, the swirling bass of Pat, the precise drumming of Marc, and Fred’s synth work that oscillates between piercing, aggressive, and experimental—reflects the deep symbiosis and friendship that define the band. Experience speaks for itself.