Ultra Dolphins

Emerging from basement gigs in Harrisonburg, Virginia—where the members, originally scattered across different Virginia cities, eventually settled in Richmond—Ultra Dolphins earned early notice for wildly unpredictable live sets that at times incorporated pyrotechnics, nudity, or even stir-frying. The power trio of Frayser Micou on drums, bassist/vocalist Tim Morris, and guitarist/vocalist Nate Rappole refined a high-octane, abrasive blend of math rock and post-hardcore pitched toward listeners of Drive Like Jehu, the Boredoms, and Shellac. In March 2006 the group released the six-song EP Why Are You Laugh, assembling tracks from two earlier EPs that had already gone out of print. Robotic Empire issued the band’s debut full-length, Mar, that autumn; the lo-fi album placed greater weight on songwriting within its skewed rhythms, yielding a disorienting yet remarkably unified batch of material. The band surrounded the record with extensive touring across the United States and Europe.