CIV Solid Bond: The Complete Discography (Equal Vision)

If you’re anything like me, and around the same age, your first chance encounter with CIV probably came in the form of their 1995 video for “Can’t Wait One Minute More”.  As a Midwestern fifteen year old kid hearing what was, at the time, seemingly just a catchy song and moderately entertaining video, I had no idea of the resounding implications it would cause; the full scale musical genesis that was going on, unbeknownst to me, in my life. I was just an impressionable youth watching MTV-who at the time still actually played music videos (for better or worse) – and didn’t realize I was gaining my first insights into hardcore.

Now, CIV itself did not play quite as a significant role as the last paragraph might have let on; it was my discovery months later that the band was headed up by Anthony Civarelli, former vocalist of legendary hardcore band Gorilla Biscuits that really served to promote my growth in the punk rock and hardcore scenes. But CIV was an important piece in the overall puzzle. By age fifteen, I was totally immersed in skateboard culture and had been listening to bands like Pennywise, NOFX and No Use for a Name, but it was this chance viewing of a music video that really set the groundwork for getting into what I found was the ‘real stuff’…the meat and potatoes of independent music that would set me on a path that leads up to today and the days following this. Weird how that works out.

CIV did not play traditional hardcore music by a long stretch; most of their songs were a blending of hardcore and pop punk with a lot of elements of what would have been referred to as an ‘alternative’ sound. Every once in a while though, the Gorilla Biscuits references would shine through and  “Do Something”, “State of Grace” and “Gang Opinion” are perfect examples of this. Regardless of what classification you want to lump their songs into, CIV’s songs were catchy and fun and at the end of the day that’s all that matters.

This double disc discography is great for conveniently having their full catalog in one package (duh.) complete with B-sides and live tracks.  If you like CIV, but were never inspired enough to go and search out all their releases, like me, then this is the perfect alternative option.

Outclassed This Might be Coincidence (Forcefield)

Noisy hardcore is certainly not a new concept. I’ve been hearing it for well over a decade, but it generally sounds horribly mismanaged. Most of the time it ends up being run into the ground by elitist, boring little shits (The Locust) or well executed but extremely drawn out (Hot Cross). Outclassed is here to occupy the middle ground of art and aggression without sounding overly experimental or long winded.

These Pittsburgh, PA dudes really resemble what, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, we commonly called Emo Violence. “Emo Violence? Well, that’s an oxymoron” you’d say. And you’d be right, but not quite all of the time; I once knew a guy that got his ass beat at a Get Up Kids show, which was as hilarious as it was surprising. Some of the better examples of bands that would have been labeled with the Emo Violence tag are Joshua Fit for Battle and Guyana Punch Line, and I can hear both bands influence at various times throughout this album; whether it was purposeful or not.    

This one sided 12″ EP features discordant, complex rhythms played at breakneck speeds. Its fast, it’s visceral but it somehow maintains a steady pace; a self sustaining cadence that doesn’t get thrown off, despite the whirlwind of squelching guitars, thunderous drumming and frenzied shouted words.  It’s a feedback soaked maelstrom of banging and crashing that manages to sound instrumentally busy without disintegrating into a pile of indiscernible noise. This Might Be Coincidence grabs you by the neck of your shirt, shakes you and gets in your face, with wild eyes and spittle flying.

This is excellent.

Heads Held High So Say We All (Crossface)

In the past several years, it seems that at least 85% of my reviews of a hardcore album include some bullshit disclaimer about how I don’t listen to hardcore all that much anymore due to a laundry list of reasons, but generally because I find most newer hardcore bands to be as exciting as a straightedge bachelor party. So, it’s nice to not have to include that for this album because, well, it’s not mind numbingly boring.

So Say We All is a little more aggressive than anything I’ve previously heard from Heads Held High, but they execute this heaviness without straying into the metal territory that a lot of their Cleveland contemporaries occupy. Although I can’t get into the collective consciousness of Heads Held High and therefore can’t claim to know what they wish to convey in regards to the musical tastes of their peers; song titles like “Cleveland: Mediocre Metal City” makes me believe we may be on the same wave length.

These guys might employ a bare bones rhythmic style but also take every opportunity to step out of that box to add a little extra flair to their songs when they can; usually through interesting guitar licks or raging community screamed vocals. Of course, this is hardcore music and hardcore music doesn’t come without the usual slings and arrows and even Heads Held High occasionally fall into some prefabricated hardcore moments, but not as often as most.  If you like Dag Nasty, Gorilla Biscuits and Strike Anywhere (and you should), you might very well dig So Say We All.

I still don’t listen to an overabundance of hardcore records these days and the ones I do listen to regularly are of a high pedigree. This album, in time, may be ranked amongst those albums. For me, this album is nearly flawless; always staying fast and visceral without falling into any cringe worthy breakdown moments or stumbling into emo art obscurity. I can successfully listen to So Say We All without skipping a track. Recommended.

Chris’ top 10 albums of 2008

2008 was an especially good year for music. Last year I was easily able to crank out my top ten list as there was not an exceptional amount of albums that were particularly noteworthy. This year was completely different. There have been a metric shit-load of great albums that have held my attention this year, and this fact confounded the weeding out process. Here are the survivors, in no particular order.

 

Offsides It’s a Struggle to Communicate (Get Outta Town)

As I get older, my appetite for hardcore is rapidly waning. At twenty eight, my attitude on newer albums becomes increasingly that of the jaded ‘been there, done that’ older guy. It takes a lot to get my attention and even more to keep it, and you’re not going to get it playing the same old tired breakdowns and shouting about how you need to “Overcome (insert various life struggle)”, or rage against some machine or another.

Having got that out of the way, Offsides plays a pretty standard, but respectable, brand of hardcore. It’s straightforward, fast and angry as fuck and although it’s nowhere near groundbreaking, it’s still enjoyable.  It’s the same tried-and-true formula utilized by countless bands on Revelation Records in the Nineties that always seems to find its way back to the forefront. And despite the fact that this band still manages to get my blood pumping, I could have easily dismissed this EP had it not been for their vocalist.

I have to admit, the fact that Offsides is a female fronted band is one of the few reasons I gave this album more than a once over. The whole idea is something almost unheard of, to the point where it almost seems sadly novel. Danielle Allan’s shouted vocals are something that the hardcore scene has been sorely lacking; her words come across more genuine than most of her male peers. For me, it’s something that is breathing fresh air into something that I’ve found relatively stale for quite awhile.

It’s a Struggle to Communicate is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it album, which is the nature of an EP, I guess, but it does leave you wanting more. Overall it’s a solid offering that really hits its stride with “At Zero”, which is a mid paced, deliberate song that really showcases Danielle’s ability to sound both plaintiff and indignant. Coupled with the spot on pace and community background vocals, it’s the premier song on this CD and the one to abruptly end it.

I started writing this review after listening to this EP three times. By the time I ended said review, it had spun thrice more and I realized I’m more of a fan of this than I initially suspected. I’m eager to hear what Offsides will come up with next.