From the subzero depths of the Diamond Valley Lake, Shojo Winter premieres the title track to their upcoming EP release, "Somewhere Else", the first sign of life since their summer debut "Eternal Snow". Kevin McVey and Patrick Capinding, commonly associated with the ear-rending, emotionally destructive shoegaze band Crisis Arm, started on a new project to embrace glacial bleakness of coldwave and ethereal dreampop. Teaming up with Patricio Bautista, the three reimagine the glossolalic verve of Cocteau Twins and Lowlife in the wake of a post-Third Impact world.

Shojo Winter are holding a two-part release show, details below. - Ryan Mo

Dec. 18 — The dA Center for the Arts (Pomona) with The Victoriana, Shit Giver, The Lowered

Dec. 19 — House show (Lawndale) with Cruelty Code, Chikochikorita, and C. Kiten (Brittany Scheffler).

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

(Technically we're not supposed to talk about bands that aren't local, but Courtaud and Bobtail were based in the OC for four years, and continually come down to perform — they're currently on tour, and have played with some of the finest folks in the underground scenes: Shojo Winter, Cruelty Code, Media Jeweler, Young Lovers, Deep Fields, CTHTR. So they're pretty tight in my book, and worthy of mention.)

Inspired by a mythical 15th century French wolfpack that killed 40 Parisians, the experimental outfit — Alana Cook, Emily Wasilewski, and Andrew Quinones — come up with some very unsettling and vesperous sounds. The accumulated recordings are placid, lo-fi scrawls of peaking feedback, acoustic hum, and calm verse that poeticize the dismal realities of life. Their newest LP "My Love Who Never Was Will Never Be" ventures into narratives of depression, ennui, trauma, and exploitation. It's heavy with poignant use of reverb and sparse, minimalist arrangements — sadder than Hollywood sadcore, but less boxed into ambient soundscapes as Mojave 3 and Mazzy Star.

Thursday night, Courtaud and Bobtail joins Young Lovers (post-rock from the valley) and Tender Age (C86/noisepop from Portland) at the Ham & Eggs Tavern, DJ set by the lovely Izzy Sophia. Come out: you might cry, you might dance, and you just might find love. Listen to "Hanging Wall" below. - Ryan Mo

The extremely chill volunteer-run collective OC DIY is throwing an early evening show tonight as Seattle's grungy/gazey trio Where My Bones Rest Easy make their way through Fullerton with their newest 12" Exercises In Futility. On support: the extremely loud, extremely brutal Hemet outfit Crisis Arm and the feedback junkies Airs, who are both playing early on. Punk from the Uplands MAMMOTH warm up the stage for WMBRE, with Long Beach's kawaii post-hardcore quartet Struckout closing the night. It's gonna get heavy tonight at Fullerton's skate shop Programme HQ with all kinds of Fugazi/Smashing Pumpkins/MBV-inspired sounds — remember to respect the space and respect the bands. 5bux cover to support the touring band, flyer art by Sophia Zarders. - Ryan Mo

Crisis Arm is really loud. I saw them at a house show once. Everyone who didn't wear earplugs seemed to be thrown into a stupor. The ones who did had trouble getting to the door. The sound guy broke down in tears. It was beautiful.

This homegrown fuzz outfit from Riverside County has been responsible for widening fault lines and caving in cochleas since 2009. Most of the members live and raise 10 cats together in Hemet, and share a strong love for anime and video games; RPG fans might trace their name to a weapon in the legendary Square title Chrono Trigger. The band's humble beginnings eventually lead to underground acclaim with their 2014 LP Rend (via Mayfly Records): a collection of diffuse, lo-fi dreamscapes that merged sounds of My Bloody Valentine, loveliescrushing, and Spacemen 3. On stage, Crisis Arm roars with the strength of several fullstack amps, channeling their melancholic guitars through infinite muff and reverb pedals. In the past several years, Crisis Arm has played out DIY shows like the Blood Orange Infoshop (Riverside), dA Center For The Arts (Pomona), Dynamite Vinyl (Fresno), and White Oak Music and Arts (Van Nuys). 

Crisis Arm will be touring California for the next few weeks with their other half, San Francisco punk/gaze project Airs. This Sunday, they're playing a Part Time Punks show at The Echo with Creepers, a psychgaze band cofounded by members of Deafheaven, and veteran LA psych/post-punkers Dirt Dress ($8a/$10d). Listen below to "resemblance," the first song off Rend. - Ryan Mo