Australia’s CIVIC have announced their third album Chrome Dipped, set for release on 30 May via ATO Records. Willing to break free from the raw, distinctly Australian punk rock blueprint of Future Forecast (2021) and Taken By Force (2023), CIVIC push themselves into fresh creative territory with Chrome Dipped. Marking a bold shift from their signature sound, the LP finds the band exploring new sonic territory while maintaining their sharp intensity.
“We’d been pushing a sort of ’70s Australian punk sound with our first two records, but I think we wanted to take it in a different direction,” says guitarist Lewis Hodgson. “I think it was all starting to feel a bit stale.”
CIVIC share the self-titled lead single ‘Chrome Dipped’. The track blends gritty, swaggering riffs with a driving relentless energy and the band share: “’Chrome Dipped’ is about finding human emotion and a world that’s hurling towards complete reliance on the machine.”
In support of Chrome Dipped, CIVIC will embark on an international tour this year, crossing North America and supporting the Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter on a tour of Australia, before touching down in the UK, Ireland and Europe this summer. With UK stops including Belfast, Glasgow and Manchester, the band round off this leg of the tour with a set at 2000 Trees festival.
To guide CIVIC to these new sonic pastures the band tapped Australian singer-songwriter Kirin J. Callinan to produce the record, and legendary musician and producer Chris Townend to engineer. It was Callinan’s idea to spend a week recording at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania, a far cry from the outback house in which CIVIC laid down Taken By Force. The end result is the work of a band expanding their boundaries.
“We kind of stuck to the rules a little bit earlier on like, do Australian punk rock properly and all that,” says Hodgson. “But after touring around the world and seeing what all these other bands are up to it’s like, you can really do whatever the fuck you want. And so it’s fun to just kind of let go.” He continues, “I hope people feel a little confused at first. Then a bit angry, and then feel good, and then interested, and then they feel like, ‘Oh, this is sick.’ That process exactly. I hope it’s a bit challenging.”
CIVIC UK/EU Live Dates
June
24 – San Sebastian, ES – Dabadaba
25 – Madrid, ES – El Sol
26 – Valencia, ES – Loco Club
27 – Barcelona, ES – Upload
28 – Vitoria, ES – Helldorado
30 -Bologna, IT – Freakout Club
July
1 – Milan, IT – Punkadeka Preview @ Magnolia
3 – Belfast, UK – Voodoo
4 – Dublin, IE – Workmans Cellar
5 – Waterford, IE – Luca Records & Skate Shop
6 – Limerick, IE – Kasbah
8 – Manchester, UK – Gullivers
9 – London, UK – Moth Club
10 – Cheltenham, UK – 2000 Trees Festival
12 – Belgium, BE – Sjock Festival
13 – Dusseldorf, DE – Ratinger Hof
14 – Berlin, DE – Privatclub
15 – Hamburg, DE – Goldener Salon @ Hafenklang
18 – Kristiansand, NO – Ravnedalen Live
19 – Tromso, NO – Bukta Festival (with DJ set that night)
24 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
25 – Paris, FR – Supersonic
26 and 27 – Binic, FR – Binic Folk Blues Festival
UK dates in bold
For more information on Civic please check their facebook and instagram.
