The Silhouette Era has a new guitarist, a new EP and a sound that’s ready to open some doors.

More than three years following The Silhouette Era’s full-length studio release, Beacons, plus a few singles afterward, the Monterey natives feel very good about the release of their eponymous new EP, which marks the group’s best work yet and establishes a strong sense of who they are, collectively, as a rock band.

The simplest way to describe TSE’s brand of hook-laden garage-surf is to imagine a more talented group of musicians doing what bands like The Growlers try to do with less success.

TSE’s EP opener, “Waste Me,” is classic speedy surf sludge that joyfully smacks you upside the noggin with an eight-foot longboard soaked in heavily distorted yet memorable riffs. And Carlos Gonzalez (vocals, guitar, synth) – the group’s main songwriter – mildly channels the vocal delivery of Wavves’ Nathan Williams.

Gonzalez effortlessly melds droney New Wave nihilism with over-excited Orange County surf-punk, lodging the two-word refrain in the listener’s head permanently. You’ll be singing “Waste Me” over and over again without even realizing everyone around you can hear.

The four songs that follow grab hold of your ears with just as much intensity as younger surf-punk favorites, FIDLAR, who are a source of inspiration to Gonzalez and the rest of the band.

“This time around, we’re more energetic,” Gonzalez says. “Before, we were a little slower, a little more mid-tempo – we’re now leaning heavier on the energy end.”

Drummer James Findlay says TSE has gradually been working toward their current sound over a few years.

“We started going into this garage-surf oriented route with the singles in 2016, and there was a taste of it on Beacons as well. Now we are really just going even more in that direction,” he says.

Gonzalez attributes some of the band’s newfound identity to the addition of new lead guitarist Sean Thompson, who studies music with Gonzalez at San Francisco State University.

“We were very curious to see what music would come out of that,” Gonzalez says. “I don’t think we had any plans for a bigger release, but an EP ended up coming out and we’re happy with the results, and wanted to do more. [Sean] joining the band is one of the best things that’s happened to us.”

Yoy (formerly known as IOI, still pronounced “Why Oh Why”), Pablo and Bedrooms open the show.

THE SILHOUETTE ERA, YOY, PABLO AND BEDROOMS 7pm Saturday, June 23. East Village Coffee Lounge, 498 Washington St., Monterey. $5. 373-5601, thesilhouetteera.com