Civil Civic, those mavens of mind-melting math-rock mayhem have been quiet for the better part of 2012 since the release of their self-titled, self-released debut album last year. An attempt to restake their claim across Europe was recently denied by UK customs officials who insisted that both Ben and Aaron’s torch-carrying Olympic duties carried precedence […]
So that was 2010. What does Webcuts remember most about it? It’s hard to say, really. The landscapes shift, the memories flickr and 365 days blur into one long unending soundtrack. One thing our favourite tracks of 2010 all had in common was that they appeared like one night stands that lingered a little longer than usual, almost all of them attached to a singular memory of the song being performed, either from a distance or elbows resting on the stage in mute admiration, or maybe just there emanating from a speaker aimed direct into our inner consciousness, refusing to budge.
By now you should already be well acquainted with abrasive-pop instrumentalists Civil Civic, stars of a recent “Who The Hell Are…?” exposé. They appear as the final release for the 2010 Too Pure Singles Club with the free-ranging fan-titled “Lights On A Leash”, (not to be confused with Korn’s “Freak On A Leash”). Continuing their own ideal to make inexplicable music that has reviewers wheeling out the sturdy, “kinda like Sonic Youth” fallback (guilty…), “Lights On A Leash” is a song in two parts, or the musical output of a presumed conjoined twin, one clad in black, reaching for The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds, the other revealing its hidden prog-rock side and attempts to blow the other twin’s mind. Released on limited edition red vinyl, you oughta buy it now as I’m sure the whole Barcelona/London thing is getting expensive for these guys.
There aren’t that many great instrumental duos in the history of rock and roll. I’ve thought about this for about 20 seconds or so and bored already. To arrive at that musical decision, and to arrive at that musical decision when your bandmate doesn’t even live in the same country, is as perverse as it is stupid. Being as they are Australian, perverse stupidity is our calling, and it’s why Civil Civic succeed where others have just gone “Dude, we need another member”. With the title still up for grabs (or until some smart-ass avant-garde freak shoots me down), Civil Civic could turn out to be the greatest instrumental duo in the history of rock and roll. Wouldn’t that be just dandy?
“Run Overdrive” is taken from the double b-side debut single from Bar/Lo (Barcelona/London) instrumental noise duo Civil Civic. (The other b-side being “Fuck Youth”, but we don’t say “fuck” on Webcuts). Guitarist Aaron Cupples and bassist Ben Green equally divide the stage, but which is Civil and which is Civic, and what exactly IS this? To my ears, I hear The Tornados “Telstar” being fed through a wood chipper and then lovingly reassembled, which in comparative musical terms is something like the lovechild of Lightning Bolt and Sonic Youth. In a past life I would’ve said that Civil Civic don’t make music, they just make noise, but these days bands wear that as a badge of pride, so I’ll just say Civil Civic try to make noise but come out smelling of roses. Released on a limited edition 7″ (DIY badge of pride earnt), “Run Overdrive/Fuck Youth” can be purchased here… http://shop.civilcivic.com/album/run-overdrive-fuck-youth/
Crystal Castles go disco (mutated to CC standards but still disco) on “Sad Eyes”, the third track taken from their third album (III). The clip for “Sad Eyes” features live footage of the band performing mixed with shots of Alice Glass lip-syncing along and other randomness. The melodic synth lines of the track screams ABBA (no, seriously), and is another departure from the screaming and soundsystem destroying sonic meltdowns that Crystal Castles are notable for. Having just caught the band on tour in Australia last week, they were on their usual deafening form, working the writhing masses into a frenzy. Life’s got to be a gas in that band, I tell you.
