Los Angeles-based Band Aparte, the brainchild of Brian Mendoza, employs a brooding blend of nervy post-punk and beachy West Coast goth rock. Inspired by seminal underground bands like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, New Order, and Dead Kennedys, the band's clever pairing of gloomy darkwave and big pop hooks eventually landed them with Manifesto Records. The resulting Memory on Trial, their debut long-player, was released in 2016. Band Aparte has started to gain notoriety with energetic, cathartic, and noisy live shows, and LA Weekly has named them one of the best punk bands in Los Angeles.