Triple rock: Little Man, MaLLy and Tyte Jeff play release parties this weekend

In a fitting coincidence, the weekend of Record Store Day also brings release parties for three of the best Twin Cities albums this year.

Little Man, "Original Face"

The legend of Chris Perricelli lives on, and here's the best proof yet that it's no myth. The Prince-sized rocker is well-known locally for brandishing giant guitar riffs, booming drums and a general rock 'n' roll enormity that belies both his diminutive stature and today's tight-jeaned, tight-to-the-vest, indie-rock shoegazer mob mentality. His first album in seven years is as timeless and classic-rocking as the three that came before it, with seasoned drummer Sean Gilchrist and bassist Brian Herb adding a tight sheen. "I wanna see your face!" Perricelli howls over face-melting guitar licks and an unabashedly Zeppelin-ized groove in "Face," one of several tracks laced with Zen-mystical lyrics that are surprisingly more Joni Mitchell than Spinal Tap. Simpler love songs such as the Big Starry "Medicinal" cut plenty deep, too. But even Perricelli will tell you this is the kind of rock 'n' roll that ultimately doesn't require much thinking.

Release party: 9 p.m. Fri., Amsterdam Bar & Hall, $10, with Pink Mink and Fury Things.

MaLLy, "The Colors of Black"

Usually when an urban rap artist titles a song "Machine Gun," you can expect gunshots within the first five seconds. In the case of the standout track from south Minneapolis rapper-on-the-verge MaLLy's third full-length, we don't hear so much as a BB gun popping, but the song nonetheless feels like a drive-by assault with duck-for-cover beat changeups and oddball rapid-fire wordplay ("I trust every broad I lust / With a mouthful of cavities and I don't wash up"). It's one of many tracks here that really make you stop and listen. Where the real-life Malik Watkins spent much of his 2012 effort "The Last Great..." telling us what he's all about, "The Colors of Black" is more about what he can do. That includes throwing down hard and heavy with guests Slug and Rapper Hooks in "Hold My Tongue" and getting his Spank Rock-like digi-spazz on in "Hold My Tongue." It also includes several powerful nods to rising above his troubled youth, including "Innervisions." Clearly, he's still rising.

Release party: 10 p.m. Fri., 7th Street Entry, $7-$10, with Last Word, Haphduzn, Jimmy 2 Times, DJ Fundo.

Tyte Jeff, "Tyte Jeff"

Even when he was attending Hopkins High School and playing in the scene-ruling roar-rock band Plastic Constellations, Jeff Allen didn't seem as fixated on youth culture as he does on his self-titled solo debut, which follows a half-decade hiatus from music-making. With a Stephen Malkmus wink and a Win Butler wince, songs like "Exurb Kids Don't Know What They Don't Know" and "Imagine This Before Irony" explore the quirks and shortcomings of today's and yesterday's future leaders. "The cruel hands of times turned all those kids into mortgagees," Allen sings of idealist punks in the latter tune, which is as autobiographical as this cohesive and ceaselessly compelling six-track set gets. In "Loose Crowns," he complains about saggy pants, while in "The Cincinnati Shuffle," it's "freelancers artfully slumming in Williamsburg." What keeps it from turning into get-off-my-lawn curmudgeon rock is Allen's obvious, infectious joy over getting to rock again — if not be young again.

Release party: 9 p.m. Sat., Turf Club, $5, with Valet and the Ronnie Buxtons.