Often compared to bizarre Japanese noise bands such as the Boredoms, Melt Banana have gotten their brand of hyperactive, quirky noise-punk down to a science on this live album released on the label of New York avant-garde jazz-and-everything-else-under-the-sun musician John Zorn. I've often stayed away from live albums (unless they're of the caliber, say, of The Who's "Live At Leeds") because of subpar sound quality and messy performances, but this record features crisp, phenomenal playing and an excellent track selection.

Because of this, it serves not only as a great introduction to one of the stranger, more head-spinning bands out there, but proves that these guys (and girl) aren't just messing around randomly on their instruments and acting silly, as one could be led to suspect from their studio recordings -- on hearing this, you're first surprised by how many bizarre and brilliant ideas are flying around in these tracks, then by the fact that Melt Banana are recreating the sheer insanity of their albums in realtime.

This record -- definitely a must for caffeine-fueled late nights -- is fast, catchy, loud, and complex, and there's even an awe-inspiring cover of the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" thrown in near the end as a bonus. How can you beat that?