Mystery Dates – Who Are Mystery Dates? LP

Mystery Dates – Who Are Mystery Dates? LP

Sun-bleached Texas has long fostered a roughly-hewn garage rock and proto-punk scene that is as expansive as the Chihuahuan desert. From the 13th Floor Elevators to the Butthole Surfers, artists both bold and depraved have given rise to a legacy of singularly outsider music.

Mystery Dates were one of the first and greatest bands to emerge from San Antonio’s early ‘80s underground—like the Lone Star State’s answer to the arty and debauched rock ‘n’ roll of New York Dolls, the Stooges, and the Dickies.

For decades, Mystery Dates’ two proper releases, 1982’s self-titled 7-inch EP and a 1983 single, Self Inflicted Sex, have remained the group’s quintessential offerings. They’re also difficult to track down. But a new compilation, titled Who Are Mystery Dates? (Midnight Cruiser Records), unearths these forgotten releases and pairs them with later numbers and some newly discovered unreleased older songs.

Who Are Mystery Dates? is a compelling document of the group’s fast, loud tunes and manic energy, offering a Texas history lesson steeped in the raw, volatile world of these musical pioneers.