With regret, members are pulling the plug on Cruelty Code in two more shows. Known for their mixture of trepanating timbres and rusted-scalpel lyrics, the paragon of IE coldwave exemplified Salope Cassette's nursery of whispered auteurs including Contraciel, Shojo Winter, and Ambersmoke. The departure of Cruelty Code comes as a tragedy to Southern California's close-knit and supportive communities of noise — the project is survived by The Victoriana and Pornography Ethics.

Their three-date send-off began last night in Riverside with Shitgiver, Band Aparte, and Sashcloth & Axes. Kevin McVey (Shojo Winter, ex-Crisis Arm) fills in synth for Kevin Martin (ex-Apathean, Eisenhower). - Ryan Mo, photo credit: Shojo Winter

1/30 Temecula @ The Dial with MATH, Wreckage and Black Cat, Shojo Winter

2/05 Los Angeles @ Timewarp with OCD, Toner, Shojo Winter, The Unending Thread

After months juggling studio time, rehearsals, and shows across California, Los Angeles darkwave trio Ghost Noise will release the follow-up to their 2013 debut This is the Next Part of Your Dream.

Our Heaven of Darkness, the full-length recorded through 2014 and produced in part with Jessica Nicole Collins (BERU)and Jöseph Solomön Calleirö, comes out this week on December 5th.

The Deli reached out to Ghost Noise about what fans new and old can expect from Our Heaven of Darkness. "We're exploring a lot of darker tones on this album," says Gawby Moon. 

John Connolly adds, "It’s an album born out of a lot of hurt. These are the most deeply personal songs we’ve ever written."

Ghost Noise and BoredToDeath are hosting a record release show at Non Plus Ultra with Intimatchine and BERU. The evening will be complete with visual projections by Wes Johansen, vinyl grooves from KXLU's Mukta Mohan, and delectables by Joshua Ploeg. You can also catch an early show this Thursday at The Smell with Band Aparte and Parallax Scroll. Listen to the lachesist "Farther and Fainter", the second single from Our Heaven of Darkness, below. - Ryan Mo

Los Angeles collective All Scene Eye has taken over Saturdays at The Lost Knight, hosting free shows every weekend for the tired and thrifty of Echo Park.

Tonight fans of noise rejoice as gaze-y quartet Blood Candy blasts the British-styled pub with some sweet Dead Moon jams. The night opens with SHEER's heavy nostalgic hum mere days after the announcement of their debut LP Uneasy. The glorious rose petal flash of San Pedro's post-punk duo Band Aparte follows suit. And drugpop quintet Slow White ends the night with sonic opiates.

21+, but you bet your sweet drinking-age ass it's gonna be a sick night. Indulge in the aural apéritif below, courtesy of Blood Candy. Mind the freeway construction traffic, tho. - Ryan Mo

Out in Riverside, Graeme Crane, the owner of the limited-run Salope Cassette label, has been busy for the past few years pushing out tapes of hard-to-find artists. It's good stuff; local acts that don't get nearly as much exposure as their PR-privileged peers, yet carry strong Internet cult followings.

Graeme's also programming/vocals in the coldwave group Cruelty Code, with keyboardist Kevin Martin (ex-Apathean, Eisenhower), bassist Derek Page (The Victoriana), and guitarist Jack Montgomery (ex-Contraciel). Their aloof and meme-friendly Facebook demeanor tends to precede their sound. Listener be warned: this is harsh, ominous, and emancipating — a stereoscopic experience of 80's dystopic overscoring and lo-fi recordings cut with adulterants. Mixed with acts like Ghost Noise, Band Aparte, Crisis Arm, and Michael Vidal, and you're pretty much guaranteed a dissociative evening via sensory overload.

Catch them at the next hidden warehouse show with Crescendo and Foliage this Halloween. - Ryan Mo

From down the end of Los Angeles, the barebones gravepunk duo Band Aparte strips down and combines elements of gothic rock, synthpunk, and beachy lo-fi as macabré appreciation simmers in the gut of the city.

Vocalist Brian Mendoza effortlessly channels Joy Division and Nick Cave, crooning into a death bouquet with his shirt unbuttoned. But he's not doing it to imitate Morrissey's aesthetic — Band Aparte's shows are fast and fierce, and the crowd works up a sweat at every venue they play. Josh Hensley's psychotic textures gnaw and bite at the ears, from sharp velcro fuzz to buoyant modulations that pair with relentless drum machine beats like deliriants to narcotics. It's a dangerous mixture that has crushed nights alongside Cruelty Code, Roses, Ghost Noise, and Terminal A.

Find Band Aparte this Saturday at Echo Park Rising — playing 4:30pm at Lot 1 Café. Listen to their eponymous track from their EP "Enter" below. - Ryan Mo