Wednesday 20 August 2014

ULTRA DOLPHINS

GenresPunk / Rock / Noise Rock / Math Rock / Sass Rock / Screamo / Hardcore / Post Hardcore / Experimental / Improv
Related artistsSnack Truck, Brainworms and Gull.
CountryRichmond, Virginia USA
Years Active2003/2005-2010
Song: "Synchronized Swimming"
Album: "Why Are You Laugh"
Year: 2006
Label(s): Blood Of The Drash / If And When / The Perpetual Motion Machine / Robotic Empire / Rorschach Records / Exotic Fever Records
This post's artist is from the August 2014 Mix. This is track #6.
You can download the August Mix#8 right here or get the new August Mix#9 here.
For fans ofMeth And Goats, Mass Movement Of The MothRye Coalition, The Holy Shroud, North Of America, Hot Snakes, Life In Vacuum, The Blood Brothers, Aim Of Conrad, Transistor Transistor, L'Antietam, Soiled Doves, Ladder Devils, 12XU, Baton RougeAdolina, Secret Smoker, Panthers, Teenage Swoon, Apollo 18, Brainworms and Cyrus Gold.

ULTRA DOLPHINS were a wacky fucking band. First off, the name. Secondly, the album title 'Why Are You Laugh'. Third, their cover art. And lastly, the band shifted styles to throw us all off after a 4-year recording hiatus. If you like your punk rock with a fair amount of sass, a lot of humour and dabblings in garage-rock and screamo, then I would highly recommend this band.

Sharing members with the screamy experimental outfit Snack Truck and sounding an awful lot like fellow labelmates Meth And Goats, ULTRA DOLPHINS dropped a decent amount of material with a lot of growth and experimentation from record to record in just over 5 years. The band's crowning achievement was their debut, self titled EP which was re-released as 'Why Are You Laugh' in 2006 and was my introduction to the band. Fans of Meth And Goats, Life In Vacuum, Aim Of Conrad, Mass Movement Of The Moth and even Secret Smoker should take note.

'Why Are You Laugh' is a 6-track punk/garage-rock/screamo jaunt for anyone looking for something interesting and different...oh, and amazing. Tracks like "Synchronized Swimming" and "Playground Polotique" are the reasons why I did this post. Dirty, gritty and melodic with a hell of a lot of danceability. And screaming. Dave loves screaming.

The band's output from 2004-2005 was thin, but "Innoculations" from the Order split 7" is pretty decent. The band has also stated on numerous occasions that they formed in 2005, so how the hell do they have 2 records pre-2005? Confusing.

'Mar' was a bit of a letdown for me. Although it contains some killer tracks ("Towngoat" and "Sickman Outside") I expected more aggression and catchy numbers via Aim Of Conrad style, but was treated with a more straightforward version of ULTRA DOLPHINS. A good record, very experimental and an interesting listen, but not as enjoyable as 'Why Are You Laugh'.

The band's final output, 'Alien Baby' was not my thing. It's basically a punk record with some hints of garage-rock. Some readers may dig, but I was lacking a shovel. Download the discography and decide for yourself.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

2003 - Ultra Dolphins cdEP (re-released as 'Why Are You Laugh')

2004 - Tour Cassette cassetteEP

2005 - Order split 7"

2006 - Mar cd/12"LP
2006 - Why Are You Laugh cdEP/12" (release of 'Ultra Dolphins' + 1 bonus track)

2007 - Best Friends Day 6 12"LP compilation (contributed "Hed Bangin")

2010 - Alien Baby cd/12"LP

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(2003) ULTRA DOLPHINS - "Synchronized Swimming" (from 'Why Are You Laugh')

(2003) ULTRA DOLPHINS - "Playground Polotique" (from 'Why Are You Laugh')

(2005) ULTRA DOLPHINS - "Innoculations" (from 'Order' split)

(2006) ULTRA DOLPHINS - "Towngoat" (from 'Mar')

(2006) ULTRA DOLPHINS - "Sickman Outside" (from 'Mar')

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ULTRA DOLPHINS out-of-print discography mp3 download / additional links

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