New Video: CIVIC Shares Jangling and Nihilistic “The Fool”

Since their formation back in 2017, Melbourne-based punks CIVIC — Jim McCullough (vocals), Roland Hlvaka (bass), Lewis Hodgson (guitar) and their newest member Eli Sthapit (drums) — have developed a reputation for reimagining the reckless intensity of proto-punk for our era of seemingly unending and unceasing uncertainty and strife. 

The acclaimed Aussie outfit’s forthcoming third album, the Kirin J. Callinan-produced Chrome Dipped saw its official release today through ATO Records. Eager to step beyond the raw, unmistakably Australian punk rock sound of their first two albums, Chrome Dipped sees the band pushing into uncharted sonic terrain without scarfing the long-held fierce energy that has defined them. 

Thematically, the album touches upon loss and grief, following the death of Jim McCullough’s mother, as well as broader essentially reflection. In a larger sense, Chrome Dipped is about casting off old shells — both musically and emotionally — and finding meaning in the messiness of human life and evolution.

The band tapped Aussie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kirin J. Callinan to produce Chrome Dipped. It was his idea to spend a week recording at Hobart, Tasmania‘s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), a far cry from the outback house in which the band laid down 2023’s Taken By Force. “We’ve always done our records DIY,” CIVIC’s Jim McCullough says. “This time we wanted to step up and make it sound as big as we could.”

“We kind of stuck to the rules a little bit earlier on like, do Australian punk rock properly and all that,” CIVIC’s Lewis Hodgson says. “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 also brought on a filmmaker to capture behind-the-scenes and in-studio footage, with plans for a longer documentary in the works. The film explores the physical and emotional place that inspired Chrome Dipped,  following the band through their journey of making the album. 

Last month, I wrote about album single “The Hogg,” a song named for its “disgusting sounding riff.” Fittingly, the song is a bruising ripper, anchored around a grimy, chugging riff and thunderous drumming paired with McCullough’s punchy delivery. While continuing to channel the grime, filth and fury of their previous work, “The Hogg” showcases a band pairing delicate and dreamy lyrical imagery with sinister, deeply unpleasant overtones and a subtle yet slick, studio polish.

As the band explained to Flood Magazine, the song is about “staring into the abyss and seeing nothing but its pure beauty. Surface level pleasure with sinister undertones. A porcelain dancer draped in flesh, pirouetting to the infinite beat. ‘The Hogg’ is my reality. ‘The Hogg’ is my destiny.” 

“The Fool,” Chrome Dipped‘s final pre-release single is a jangling and metallic, cretinous stomp of song that showcases the band’s melodic sensibility while retaining the punchy and feisty punk quality they’ve been known for. The Aussie quartet say “‘The Fool’ is a nihilistic death march about dreamers and idiots. A jangley [sic] punk song meant to provoke the senses. It recalls the story of the fool and what’s behind the 1000-yard stare.

Directed by Conor Mercury, the accompanying video for “The Fool” is a lush yet brooding and cinematically shot visual that’s set in a world that’s both harsh yet surreal, as we see struggling and desperate folks with odd, somewhat unnecessary super powers.

CIVIC is currently in the middle of a North American tour that includes a June 13, 2025 stop at TV Eye before heading to the UK and European Union. Check out the rest of the tour dates below. Tickets are available here. 

North American Tour Dates
5/30 – The Vera Project – Seattle, WA
5/31 – Polaris Hall – Portland, OR
6/3 – Bottom Of The Hill – San Francisco, CA
6/6 – The Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
6/7 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
6/11 – Pearl Street – Washington, DC
6/12 – Foto Club – Philadelphia, PA     6/14 – Middle East Upstairs – Boston, MA
6/13 – TV Eye – New York, NY
6/16 – The Baby G – Toronto, ON
6/17 – The Sanctuary – Hamtramck (Detroit), MI
6/18 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
6/19 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN

UK/EU Tour Dates
6/24 – Dabadaba – San Sebastian, ES
6/25 – El Sol – Madrid, ES
6/26 – Loco Club – Valencia, ES
6/27 – Upload – Barcelona, ES
6/28 – Helldorado – Vitoria, ES
6/30 – Freakout Club – Bologna, IT
7/1 – Punkadeka Preview @ Magnolia – Milan, IT
7/3 – Voodoo – Belfast, UK
7/4 – Workmans Cellar – Dublin, IE
7/5 – Luca Records & Skate Shop – Waterford, IE
7/6 – Kasbah – Limerick, IE
7/8 – Gullivers – Manchester, UK
7/9 – Moth Club – London, UK
7/10 – 2000 Trees Festival – Cheltenham, UK
7/12 – Sjock Festival – Antwerp, BE
7/13 – Ratinger Hof – Dusseldorf, DE
7/14 – Privatclub – Berlin, DE
7/15 – Goldener Salon @ Hafenklang – Hamburg, DE
7/18 – Ravnedalen Live – Kristiansand, NO
7/19 – Bukta Festival – Tromso, NO (with DJ set that night)
7/24 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
7/25 – Supersonic – Paris, FR
7/26 & 7/27 – Binic Folk Blues Festival – Binic, FR