Mystery Date: New Noir

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Mystery Date are back with their sophomore effort, New Noir. The crunchy opening bass line on “Wouldn’t You Like to Know” is just one of the irresistible rhythm parts that make the band’s grooves stick. The manic guitar parts meld together with crooned vocals by Johnny Eggerman (Real Numbers, Cozy) to form the polished songs on New Noir. The album is being released by way of Piñata Records.

The Lone Crows: Live from Freak Valley

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Blues-rock quartet the Lone Crows are releasing a batch of songs recorded at last year's Freak Valley festival in Germany. Live From Freak Valley is a mix of seven songs from their two previous albums. The Lone Crows have proven with those two albums that straightforward blues-rock is still relevant, and it’s not dad rock if you do it right. The release show is at the Triple Rock on Thursday. This is also their last scheduled show before heading back across the Pond for a string of European dates, so catch them while you can.

Ripper: Ripper

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A new band known as Ripper are dropping their debut self-titled EP this Wednesday at the Turf Club. Ripper are an overdriven surf-punk quartet, their songs are short and sweet, and the band brings the punk-rock lifestyle to fruition through those songs. “White Chuck Taylors” is a standout track. The band get playful with tempo, and the groove is just as hard to shake from your head as the chorus. They will also be at Bedlam Lowertown on Jan. 31.

Aaron Bolton is a senior at the University of Minnesota. Currently he is a co-host on Radio K’s Off The Record and is the music reporter at Radio K. He hopes to continue a career in music journalism.