Dark Blue goes full Delco on new single “Delco Runts”

Philly punks Dark Blue are back in action this winter now that drummer Mike Sneeringer has a bit of time off from his Strand of Oaks duties. The band, which also features singer-guitarist and songwriter John Sharkey III of Clockcleaner and Andy Nelson of Paint it Black, is releasing a new single on January 15th via 12XU Records. (That’s the Austin indie imprint founded by Matador Records’ Gerard Colsoy.)

The song, “Delco Runts,” is heavy on atmospheric guitar strums and Sharkey’s booming, brooding vocal delivery, setting the tone perfectly for his observational study of the bleakness of the burbs, specifically Delaware County: “Your brother was killed on the Sharon Hill line / crushed on the tracks, now your mom’s doing time.” 

If you grew up in Delco (or have any friends who did), you know that shit gets worn like a badge of honor, and Sharkey explains why in the song’s premiere over at Stereogum:

It’s a place that toughens you fast. Far harder to succeed than Philadelphia proper. The peril is real but unassuming to the initiated. It’s crushed your chances of being a real person before you even know it.

Listen to “Delco Runts” – aka Dark Blue’s “anthem for the Bazaar Of All Nations crowd” – below, and if you have tickets to Nothing’s sold-out New Years’ Eve gig at Boot and Saddle, get there early, since Dark Blue opens the show.