Dark Blue

It’s 2018 and it’s another shite year in America. But hey, the Philadelphia Eagles finally made it to the Super Bowl, so it’s only fitting there’s a new Dark Blue single recorded by none other than Jeff Zeigler. The band’s 2016 LP—'Start of The World'—was as much an ode to the powerless as it was an effort to lay bare uncomfortable realities: the working poor keep working only to get poorer, oh and ICYMI, there’s a violent occupation happening in Palestine. Dark Blue’s latest 7” for 12XU continues to sing to the unsung with two tracks that are unwilling to sugarcoat issues many seem to turn a blind eye to.

The A side, “Fight to Love”, is a brit-pop ballad that feels arena huge thanks to John Sharkey III’s distinct vocals, which are the strongest and most emotional they’ve ever been. Like all Dark Blue songs, bleak is always embedded in the pop. This track rails against gentrification, which according to Sharkey, doesn’t matter if it’s lead by “slime who dress their rescue dogs in Lycra,” or if it’s cloaked in Zionism.

The flip side to this is a reimagined version of Anti-Nowhere League’s 1983 classic, “For You.” Instead of the cut’s street punk grit, Dark Blue turns the track inside out to expose a song that goes right for the heart instead of the usual brick to the gut.

Dark Blue’s new 7” proves that they’re still here, trudging through the dreadful in 2018, and these songs will have you stomping right beside them.