ALBUM REVIEW: CIVIC – ‘Chrome Dipped’

Words by Steve Shelverton

‘Chrome Dipped’ by CIVIC does not need my spin, or any music journo for that matter. It just has to be spun on your own turntable, over and over, until the stereo breaks or the album morphs like mercury at room temperature into a T-1000 shape shifting android, poking its chrome dipped liquid metal finger through your ear canals, shocking you with a myriad of rich lyrics and rhythm that will leave you primed full of refreshing punk excellence.

I’ve followed (adored) CIVIC closely for a while, as have the upper echelons of punk hierarchy, handpicking CIVIC as supporting such acts as; Sex Pistols with Frank Carter this year, Radio Birdman in 2024, The Bronx in 2023 and Pennywise in 2022.

2025 is CIVICs year, one they have emerged from a pupal phase of previous albums; ‘Future Forecast’ and ‘Taken by Force’. They have gravitated away from purely nuclear rock bombs towards richer lyrical content, precisely shaped rhythm and percussion, with matured guitar leads to form an amalgam of shiny, hard stuff to lock you up in.

On a recent What a Great Punk podcast, Eli Sthapit (drums) revealed that each band member draws on different tastes and influences. He further added that it guided the band in a new direction, with each member exploring their own sound from four different approaches.

Eli also detailed the epic levels of paranoia he had while laying down the percussion tracks deep in the bowels of MONA Studios in Tasmania. He had good reason to be stressed, as the album was overlorded and produced by one of the most innovative and inspiring producer/artist in Australia- the acclaimed Kirin J Callinan, engineered by none other than Chris Townsend.

The first words between Eli and Kirin when they met each other were “So, you’re the drummer, you are not going to like me by the end of the week!” This was backed up when Kirin took a break during recording to remove Eli’s cymbals from the kit! This had Eli uncertain if he could make the adjustment to the simplified kit, two-thirds into the recording session timeline.

Eli, pardon the pun mate, but you absolutely fucking smashed it!

The drumming Vs production is best demonstrated on the star of the album, the title track, Chrome Dipped. Eli sets the mood and tone perfectly, with a metronomic restrained drum signature that conceals a life of its own in between Lewis Hodgson’s reeling guitar riffs and a calm moment of Jim’s vocal dexterity; “…Watch through the screen, say nothing, was a machine, now she bleeds yeah.” Roland Hlavka’s bass humming away like a B-2 Bomber, stealth mode disabled and fully laminating it all together. Eli’s atomic nail gun pulse drumming pattern continually shapes the drama and suspense right to the apex of the track.

The album is a new beginning for the band, outside of traditional Aus punk for which it is revered. Lewis is quoted in the press release of the album to state; “After touring around the world and seeing what all these other bands are up to its like, you really can do whatever the fuck you want. And so, it’s fun to just kind of let go.”

The timestamp of change in CIVIC‘s direction is in the opening track The Fool, with a retro guitar strum (that could serve as either the first or the last note) that tips the album into the assured certainty of a punk break neck beat, complete with Roland‘s dangerously fuzzed out and growling bass lines. The track transitions to the introduction of cathedral-esque keyboard sounds at the closing of the first minute, signalling the closing a heavy door behind the band, and opening a more expansive realm for the artists to come. In other words – they did whatever the fuck they wanted to on this track – and it works brilliantly.

The depth and sincerity of songwriting on this album is a true gauge to measure the poetic maturity within the band. Jim poured the grief of losing his mother into the comforting Gull’s Way. This track speaks with static stammering guitar cries in the intro, with Jim’s vocals at his most harmonic. “We’re all walking on frozen ground…and I feel let down” The track is a sensitively balanced tribute, closing with “all my love…”. I hope Jim and family find soothing comfort in reflection while listening to this track, and I thank him for his strength with sharing this beautiful ode with the world and celebrating the life of his mother.

‘Chrome Dipped’ is peppered with treats, one such tasty treacle is having Lewis steal the microphone and take over the pipe works for Kingdom Come. I don’t want to spoil it, rather, it’s best for your own discovery.

CIVIC fans of old don’t fear, there is still the heavy impact punk relishes in Swing of the Noose and the pounding, unrelentless sneering lips of The Hogg. Lewis’s dirty hooks are so snarling, your face will contort into a dreadful Billy Idol imitation when you hear it. The track’s name derives from the filthy riffs that stand in polar contrast to the gentle lyrics. This track is so tasty, I want to stand knee-deep in mud and muck in the pouring rain, unsupervised, to dance to it at a CIVIC live set.

Speaking of being left unsupervised, did anyone check in on Roland on Amissus? Because that is one oozingly sticky bass track, retaliating to the kick drum prompts from Eli, setting Jim up perfectly in this beast of a song, totally unique to the previous CIVIC discography.

Starting All The Dogs Off has the rhythm section stoking a fire with pure tension during the jam fusion build-up that manifests into storytelling. Lewis follows along with quite possibly the most memorable or meme-able line in the album, “You’ve got 6 legs and a punch that could kill a donkey!”. The looseness and length of this track creates an exciting opportunity for a band with a stopwatch regularly set to lap intervals under three minutes.

There’s exploration in brevity too though with Fragrant Rice I speculate in a live set Jim will have his finest 2:25 minutes in maniacal-mechanical delivery, all the while Lewis will be shredding his fingers into bloody stumps…which is not going to leave him much time to recover for the distorted trickery in the opening to Trick Pony.

If I was going to give you a sound bite it would be Fragrant Rice. This is the track to make you splurge, and order the vinyl copy on CIVIC‘s website, and book tickets to see CIVIC live.

There is only one way to see CIVIC perform, which is quite simply every single opportunity you get, especially as they promise to do whatever the fuck they want to!

Now go get yourself ‘Chrome Dipped’.

PRESAVE ‘CHROME DIPPED’ NOW

CIVIC – ‘Chrome Dipped’ Australian Tour
with special guests, Coldwave

Thu 4 Sept – Gold Coast, Mo’s Desert Clubhouse
Fri 5 Sept- Brisbane, The Brightside
Sat 6 Sept– Sydney, Oxford Art Factory
Fri 12 Sept- Adelaide, Ed Castle
Sat 13 Sept- Melbourne, The Croxton

Tickets available from: https://www.civicivic.com/