"[4] Minneapolis Star Tribune music critic Tom Surowicz described the Vibro Champs' sound as "classic rock 'n' roll, surf instrumentals, a dollop of R&B, some undiluted hillbilly fare, obscure cover tunes, a taste of agreeable lounge kitsch, plus a touch of jazz razzmatazz.

Before joining the band, guitarist and main songwriter Alan Subola and bassist Bill Keefe, from Madison, Wisconsin, were in the Mood Swings and Phil Gnarly and the Tough Guys.

[8] In the mid-1990s, the group was part of a national revival of swing and rockabilly that included Reverend Horton Heat, Forbidden Pigs, and Southern Culture on the Skids.

[5] The Vibro Champs were one of the leading such groups in Minneapolis, becoming known as an integral part of a roots and rockabilly revival centered on the downtown bar Lee's Liquor Lounge, which gained national attention in magazines such as Rolling Stone.

Surowicz wrote that the album "gives ample evidence of this rockabilly band's strengths: Cornfed vocals, steamy surf-powered instrumentals, garage-band immediacy and self-deprecating wit.

[25] Music writer Jim Walsh praised the album for its respect for rockabilly history, and said that "it's abundantly clear that Dave Wolfe and his crew are passionate students of the genre.

[27] It featured a guest performance on "Beach Party" by Fendermen guitarist Jim Sundquist, whose version of "Mule Skinner Blues" the band had covered on Stranger Than You Think.

Phil Dirt of the surf-music website Reverb Central gave Ultra Modern four of four stars, calling the album "marvelous, slightly strange countrified pop'n'roll" and writing that "these cats are a very fun band.

[7] The Vibro Champs contributed the song "I'll Do Anything For Baby" to the three-disc benefit CD Musicians for Minneapolis, which raised money for the victims of the 2007 I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse.

[19][35] Star Tribune music critic Chris Riemenschneider praised the album's "fierce, punky instrumental jams" and said that Wolfe and Subola "get right back to the basics, trading off Duane Eddy/Gene Vincent-style guitar licks and lyrics about babes, hot rods and the men who love them equally.