Debut EP from this hardcore band from Philadelphia.

Our take: Usually it’s records from the d-beat and noise-punk scene that test conventional standards of fidelity, but this EP from Delco MF’s assaults your ears with nary a stud in sight. On this recording, Delco MF’s is Jim from Loose Nukes and Dark Thoughts (among many other bands and projects) playing all the instruments, and while you can hear how Jim’s love of classic US hardcore shapes the Delco MF’s sound, what emerges on this EP couldn’t be further from a genre exercise. If you ever saw Loose Nukes live, you know Jim had an anarchic stage presence, often losing his mind stage diving, knocking drinks out of people’s hands, and smashing bottles while the all-star band held things down musically. For Delco MF’s, though, that sense of chaos forms the core of the music’s DNA. The riffs are fast and wild, like an even more extreme version of the Neos circa End All Discrimination, which perfectly complements Jim’s unhinged vocal style. It’s tough to say too much about the compositions, though, because they’re often obscured by the production. This EP sounds like a four-track recording with every channel way in the red; much of the record is a sheet of white noise where you can hardly tell what’s going on, with the occasional audible vocal, a couple of floor tom hits, or the odd guitar break emerging from the auditory morass. In the wrong hands, ultra-raw production can rob a recording of its dynamics, but for Delco MF’s it only adds to the wildness and intensity. After four tracks of pure gestalt, they throw us a bone with “Delco Stomp,” whose mid-paced intro riff transmits a subliminal message to punch someone in the face and grab anything that isn’t nailed down so you can heave it into the air. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, pick this one up… it’s bound to be one of the rawest, wildest, and most unique hardcore records in your collection.