This little EP forces one to ponder—can cartoon characters front the band?

Not that Hot Dolphin is actually fronted by one, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that based on “Body Snatcher”—the title track off the band’s debut EP. The vocal delivery of Lindsey Spurrier certainly resembles that of an angry cartoon dwarf—all piss and vinegar, with a drop of sleaze thrown in for a good measure.

Music-wise or lyrics-wise, there’s hardly any innovation on display (since there are no lyrics anywhere on HD’s Bandcamp page, one can only guess what “Cat Sweaters” could be about, but “Paint Dry” attacks the subject as old as the earth itself); but the way the band plows through it all with locomotive force deserves admiration, at the very least. The atmosphere is that of a party in a rat-infested basement, yet for all the lo-fi/noisy nastiness on display, the band still manages to keep it all fun.