Prior to receiving this album, I was only aware of Ultra Dolphins by name. I'd seen their name plastered on various websites and heard a few mentions from friends of mine. But outside of that, I was clueless to what they were about. Perhaps you are in the same situation right now. Well, then Why Are You Laugh is a fitting introduction. This release is a collection of the band's previously released material in one convenient package.
The six songs that make up Why Are You Laugh are a concoction of angular guitars, playful basslines, solid drumming, and obnoxious snarly vocals. The first track, "Duck Butter, Then," sets the tone with is slightly chaotic almost metal-ish opening. The song cycles through moments of this metal-tinged punk and more rock-ish ones. In fact, each song works in this formula with constant change-ups in style and tempo. "The Humans" is their best execution of this songwriting style, but at times they do come off sounding like a generic version of The Blood Brothers.
"Playground Politics" is probably my favorite song on this release. It has a definite At the Drive-In feel to it musically. I rather enjoy the moments of this song when the band is playing straightforward rock. I could definitely get into an album's worth of material in this likeness.
The layout/packaging isn't that spectacular. It contains drawings of a crude nature; it almost looks as if one of the band members let their little brother/sister do the drawing. The lyrics are scribbled handwriting; therefore some are hard to make out. Either include lyrics that are legible or leave them out so you can be "artistically vague."
As a whole Why Are You Laugh is a good introduction into this experimental punk/rock trio. But the excessive use of spastic portions in their songs kind of turns me off. Write more songs like "Playground Politics" and I'll be back for more.
