LIVE DUB

The third release from these unorthodox Japanese's is actually a 23-minute live EP that captures their unpredictability and quirkiness of their first two albums perfectly and demonstrates their humoristic experimentation at its peak. Although being short in length the two tracks included here offers a great range of diversity in their typical peculiar style providing a result that is fascinating but never boring. This time, Wha-Ha-Ha focuses more on improvisation throughout that marks the music with a somewhat darker sound than before, but if you listen carefully you will also hear performances of a few tracks from their debut album, Shinutokiwa Betsu, added among the other melodies, but they still manage to mix them almost unnoticed together with the other musical ideas presented here. The tracks often build themselves up to a climax before starting on a new part but the music still remains unpredictable and absurd. This is probably Wha-Ha-Ha's most avant-garde release, mostly because of the strong improvisational elements that includes weird saxophone honks, silly vocal experimentations and odd free jazz piano breaks, like near the outro on "Inakaki" from their debut.

For those who are wondering, the sound quality, while not quite up to pair with their two first albums, is very good so you can still hear all details going on here. I will not go further in detail how every section sounds musically in fear of spoiling this unique experience for new listeners other than saying that this will surprise you in a way you rarely will stumble over, and this album especially confirms that Wha-Ha-Ha is one of the looniest and unique bands to ever face the avant-garde progressive rock scene. Unfortunately, due to its really low distribution this one is only available as a high price import. An acquired taste, even among people that are interested in this band, but if you loved it's two predecessors, "Live Dub" is definitely worth it. 4/5