Ultra Dolphins complete new album

Official press release: Ultra Dolphins have finished work on their debut full-length, "Mar", to be released in summer '06 on Robotic Empire. Recorded at The Recorditorium in rural Virginia with engineer Jason laFerrera (VCR, Gregor Samsa, Wow, Owls!), "Mar" was tracked and mixed over a six-month period. "We started in the summer of '05 and finished after our European tour with Wow, Owls! in the winter," says Ultra Dolphins bassist/vocalist Tim Morris. Morris describes "Mar" as a giant leap forward for the band: "It was the most challenging, and ultimately rewarding, experience I've ever had in the studio. It was a long process of trying to execute all these new, challenging ideas we had -- particularly new vocal ideas -- while still creating music that reflects what we are as a live band." Ultra Dolphins drummer Frayser Micou describes the vocals on "Mar" as "more thought-out and better-executed on this recording than anything we've done before". In addition to the strengthened vocals, "Mar" sees Ultra Dolphins incorporating other new musical elements to their sound, including piano. \"The album is laced with piano and noise songs," says Micou, "which add a refreshing element to it. These segments break up the material and cleanse the aural pallet." With Ultra Dolphins taking bold steps to explore the reaches of their musical potential, "Mar" may very well earn comparisons to certain groundbreaking albums of the past. Micou offers one, for starters: "'Mar' is our 'Zen Arcade'. Where Husker Du challenged what a punk record should be, at the very least 'Mar' challenges what an Ultra Dolphins album should be." Morris describes the new material as "somewhere amidst The Boredoms, Rites Of Spring, and Smashing Pumpkins" and sums it up by stating: "'Mar' contains the best music we've ever written and recorded. We brought together some really diverse ideas and in the end everything really worked." In the meantime, Ultra Dolphins' "Why Are You Laugh", a remastered collection of six previously released songs, mainly recorded at DC's legendary Inner Ear Studios (Fugazi, The Nation Of Ulysses), is out now on Robotic Empire. Ultra Dolphins will be on tour throughout spring and summer '06.