Confession: the ABC After School Special that left the biggest mark on me was Angel Dusted. It detailed the story of a group of teenagers' involvement with PCP. Though my memory of the plot is fuzzy, the part where a fucked-up, teenage Helen Hunt runs out of a window and falls to her death remains as clear an image as any from my childhood. Whether or not ABC was merely spitting propaganda at pre-prepubescent me, the show did its job. It scared the living hell out of me and I vowed never to do PCP. At age 22, I've kept my promise.

It seems, though, that I won't necessarily have to try angel dust to know what it feels like as long as EC8OR is around. Part of the jarring Digital Hardcore collective, EC8OR create the musical equivalent of a dissociative drug. Their newest LP, The One and Only High and Low is a heady, dissonant experience, dead set against the conventions of accessibility and pleasantness.

On this record, EC80R zigzag across the line they draw between being blatant and challenging. The music is defiant, headsplitting, and void of melody. Their lyrics are suitably screamed over (sometimes under) layers of static laden with breakbeats and driving, metal guitar riffs. Throughout the album, both Patric Catani and Gina D'Orio's vocals are filtered and distorted, making it nearly impossible to understand what they're saying. Only a few of the songs' lyrics are printed in the liner notes, though actually knowing the words provides little help in terms of understanding their message. The hip-hop/protest jam "Go Out" contains the lyrics: "Go out, go out/ We are lining up/ Arm in arm, we are lining up/ Shoulder to shoulder/ We are walling up." Why they're doing this is never really explored, but EC8OR seem so sincere and urgent that it's hard not to admire their spunk.

It's this spunkiness that makes The One and Only High and Low ultimately enjoyable. Gina D'Orio is a righteous frontwoman: equal parts cheerleader, anarchist, and Kathleen Hanna. With endearing conviction, she instantly makes EC8OR more than just another Digital Hardcore group. She's even bold enough to bust a rhyme over the sampled (and accelerated) beatbox of "Zero Heroes." Similarly, the group's sense of humor is firmly in check and makes up for the their elusive political rants. "Gimme Nyquil All Night Long" is a hilarious throwback to old-school punk that makes great strides to embrace its immaturity head-on.

Though EC8OR are at their very best when their music is less emblematic of prototypical Digital Hardcore (like the New Wave-y "Don't Tell Me Shit"), they're rarely off the mark. Aware of the fact that Digital Hardcore is an acquired taste, and one that most won't get around to acquiring, EC8OR are nonetheless relentless in their refusal to compromise. They haven't done much to change my mind, but if I were to ever try PCP (by some fluke, of course), The One and Only High and Low would most certainly be my dust-smoking soundtrack.

-Richard M. Juzwiak