Surprisingly catchy, for a terrifying bit of dark pop.

While there's always been an undercurrent of pop buried beneath the screech and squall of Deftones' songwriting, it's still something of a surprise to hear Chino Moreno's unmistakable vocals floating above the lighter production of his side project, † † †.

A welcome surprise, that is. Even the loudest musicians need to lean back and chill out every now and again.

The band, which also features Shaun Lopez of Far and Chuck Doom, has been releasing EPs since they formed in 2011, but it wasn't until February that they dropped their full-length debut. While the volume may be turned down, the dark imagery Moreno and company are known for bleeds through in even deeper currents. Enter "The Epilogue" video...

The clip finds the band traveling by car along the nighttime streets, intercut with B-movie imagery that wouldn't seem out of place in an American Horror Story teaser. Old typewriters and phonographs linger in the frame as women drift in and out of focus in a spooky house. (Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett would have done wonders with those parts, TBQH.)

It's a canny mix of the unsettling and the romantic, much like the song itself. "In the back of the car/ On the way from the bar/ In silence, here we are/ Reminding us of how we're doomed," Moreno sings over a drum loop in a very Deftones-y verse.

This would be the part where the song lifts off, but it lays low instead, with Moreno singing a lovelorn chorus that sounds more George Michael than metal. He may have dialed down the melodrama, but that leaves more room for the melody.

+ Watch † † †'s "The Epilogue" video.

Get More: www.mtvu.com

Photo credit: Sumerian Records