CIVIC - THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES

“Most Anticipated Albums Of 2023”

One of the most exhilarating bands to emerge in recent years, CIVIC have reimagined the reckless intensity of proto-punk for an era of endless uncertainty. On their 2021 debut album Future Forecast, the Melbourne-based four-piece offered up a barrage of songs matching their frenetic sound with both self-aware outpouring and incisive observation of the world around them—a dynamic that’s earned massive critical acclaim as well as admiration from the likes of musicians like punk legend Henry Rollins. As further shown on their upcoming sophomore full-length Taken By Force—an album the band aptly sums up as “1984 meets Endless Summer”—CIVIC joyfully obliterate the line between furious catharsis and unbridled fun, introducing a vital new energy into today’s musical landscape.

In sharing such an immersive and emotionally arresting body of work, CIVIC ultimately hope to leave listeners with the same revelatory sensation they found in discovering the music that’s shaped them. “Lewis and I were talking about listening to the Stooges for the first time as kids and feeling completely overtaken by it,” says McCullough. “It would be amazing to have that same kind of impact. Even if it’s as simple as making them realize they just really love rock-and-roll, I think there’s something meaningful in that.”

THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES

“Australian punk royalty” (Monster Children, Tone Deaf) These New South Whales are a belt with many notches. Their “irresistible” songwriting (Kerrang!) and “old-school-cool energy” (The Line of Best Fit) has earned them international acclaim and a reputation as “one of the best punk bands in Australia” (triple j). Their hit Comedy Central show – touted as “the punk Flight of the Conchords” (NME) and “the best mockumentary since Spinal Tap” (Monster Children) – saw them become the first Australian band to develop their own TV series and licence it to a cable television network. And their podcast What A Great Punk ended its debut year inside Spotify’s top five music podcasts before going on to do a sold-out live run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2022. While their reputation as all-round entertainers grows, though, their music has long outgrown the comedy label that defined their formative years, with the band finishing 2022 as Australia’s #12 most playlisted artist on Spotify.

After crossing paths in Sydney’s DIY scene, Jamie Timony (vocals), Todd Andrews (guitar), Will Shepherd (bass) and Frank Sweet (drums) joined forces in 2011. Bored with the seriousness of “being in a band”, an absurdist and self-effacing sense of humour has been at the heart of all their endeavours. But what started as a passion for parody soon gave way to a genuinely great band that has followed the same trajectory as the likes of Ceremony and Turnstile, moving from straight-up punk towards a more genre-defying sound.

Over the last six years they’ve headlined tours across Australia – selling out most shows on their “TNSW 2023" run – the UK and Europe. Their 2017 debut You Work For Us hit #6 on the Australian Vinyl Charts and #1 on the Indie Charts when it was reissued in 2021, and their 2019 follow-up I Just Do What God Tells Me To Do was nominated for the Australian Music Prize. Their latest offering, 2022’s self-titled TNSW, debuted at #9 on the ARIA Album Charts, with final single “Changes” earning full rotation on triple j and beginning the year as the national broadcaster’s #11 most played track. It’s “the group’s crowning achievement” (NME), and completes their evolution from compelling Aussie basement punk into a more sprawling, international space. Now “premier punk outfit” isn’t just the cocky phrase the band uses to describe themselves in their mockumentary, it’s a real life statement of fact – and according to Mojo, “It's not even funny how comprehensively they kick the ass of most other contemporary punk-leaning ensembles”