The 20 best Civic songs hit like a fist through a pub door — loud, unpretentious, and dripping with the kind of proto-punk swagger that Melbourne does better than almost anywhere else. Since forming in 2017, vocalist Jim McCullough, guitarist Lewis Hodgson, and bassist Roland Hlavka have built one of Australia’s most electrifying rock catalogs, moving from scrappy Anti-Fade Records seven-inches to a home on Flightless and eventually ATO Records. If you’ve never sat with a pair of good cans and let “Radiant Eye” rattle your skull, you’re missing something special, and honestly, checking our compare headphones guide before you dive in isn’t a bad idea — this band rewards a mix that can handle distortion without turning to mud. What follows is a track-by-track tour through the songs that made Civic essential listening for anyone who still believes rock and roll should sound a little dangerous.
Nuclear Son
Opening Civic’s 2018 debut EP New Vietnam, “Nuclear Son” announces the band’s mission statement in under three minutes flat. The guitar tone is nasty and compressed, sitting right on top of the mix the way Radio Birdman records used to, and McCullough’s vocal delivery already has that half-sneered, half-shouted urgency that would become his signature. What gets me every time is how tight the rhythm section locks in despite the song’s breakneck tempo — nothing here feels rushed even though everything is moving fast. It’s a genuinely thrilling way to kick off a discography, and it still holds up as a live opener years later.
New Vietnam
The title track of that same 2018 EP, recorded and released through Billy Gardener’s Anti-Fade label, is where Civic’s Radio Birdman and Saints influences crystallize into something distinctly their own. There’s a coiled tension in the verses that snaps wide open on the chorus, and the production — deliberately raw, almost live-to-tape — gives the song a basement-show intimacy that bigger studio budgets often iron out. On headphones you can hear the amp hiss between phrases, which honestly adds to the charm rather than distracting from it. Critics at the time called the EP old-school punk rock done right, and this song is the clearest proof of that claim.
Call The Doctor
Closing out the front half of the New Vietnam EP, “Call The Doctor” is arguably the rawest, most unhinged cut in Civic’s early catalog. The song barrels forward with barely any breathing room, and McCullough sounds genuinely feral on the mic, which fits a band that was cutting its teeth in Melbourne pub venues like The Night Cat. There’s an urgency to the arrangement that feels almost like a dare — how fast can this band play before it falls apart? It never does, and that controlled chaos is exactly the point.
Shackled Man
“Shackled Man” slows things down just enough to let the song’s darker, more ominous mood settle in, and it’s a great example of Civic’s range even on a debut EP. The guitar tone shifts toward something grittier and more sustained, giving the track a heavier, almost sludgy undercurrent compared to its EP-mates. Lyrically it digs into themes of restriction and frustration that feel genuinely felt rather than performed. If you want to hear where the band’s later, moodier material on Chrome Dipped might have first taken root, start here.
Burning Steel
Closing the New Vietnam EP, “Burning Steel” is a fan favorite for good reason — it’s the track live-review writers keep singling out when they talk about Civic’s stage energy. The arrangement builds steadily, with Hlavka’s bassline doing serious structural work under the guitars, and the payoff chorus is one of the most immediate hooks on the whole EP. There’s a reason listeners on Bandcamp still flag this one as a highlight of the “New Vietnam & Singles” compilation. It’s proof that even in 2018, this band understood dynamics and pacing, not just volume.
Flick The Station
Taken from the November 2018 EP Those Who No, “Flick The Station” shows a noticeably cleaner, more controlled production style than the scrappier New Vietnam sessions. One reviewer at the time noted that the EP had “a cleanliness and clarity” compared to its predecessor, and you can hear that immediately in how distinct each instrument sits in the mix. The song’s restless, channel-surfing energy in the lyrics mirrors its jumpy, hook-driven structure. It’s a great entry point if you’re new to the band and want something a little more accessible than the earliest, grittiest material.
Needle In The Camel’s Eye
This one’s a curveball: it’s Civic’s cover of Brian Eno’s 1974 glam-rock classic, and they absolutely make it their own. Where Eno’s original leans into art-rock texture, Civic strips it back to a leaner, more aggressive garage-punk chassis, letting Hodgson’s guitar do the heavy lifting that synths originally handled. Covering a song like this says a lot about the band’s reference points — this isn’t a group hiding its influences, it’s one proudly wearing them on its sleeve. It remains one of the most talked-about tracks whenever longtime fans debate the band’s early discography. On a decent pair of earbuds the guitar-vs-vocal balance really comes through, so it’s worth a glance at our compare earbuds guide if you’re listening on the move.
Selling, Sucking, Blackmail, Bribes
Released as a 7-inch single in July 2019 on Anti-Fade, the title track “Selling, Sucking, Blackmail, Bribes” is one of Civic’s most pointed, politically charged moments. The lyrics take aim at institutional corruption with a directness that matches the song’s blunt, hard-driving arrangement. It’s short — barely two minutes — but it doesn’t waste a second, landing its critique and getting out before overstaying its welcome. Bandcamp listeners regularly cite it as a favorite from the era, and it’s easy to see why: few Civic songs are this economical and this furious at the same time.
Velvet Casino
“Velvet Casino” exists in two forms — the original 2019 single version and a re-recorded take that later appeared on 2021’s Future Forecast — and comparing them is a genuinely interesting study in how the band’s sound evolved. The Future Forecast version benefits from a fuller, more confident production, with the guitars given more room to breathe and McCullough’s vocal sitting further forward in the mix. Thematically it’s got a woozy, disorienting energy that suits its gambling-den imagery perfectly. Either version works, but the later cut shows just how far the band’s studio chops had come in two years.
Radiant Eye
“Radiant Eye” is the song that changed everything for Civic. Released in 2020 as a single backed with a cover of the Creation’s “Making Time,” it marked the band’s first release for Flightless Records, the label founded by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Eric Moore, and it opens 2021’s Future Forecast as an absolute statement of intent. Stereogum’s Tom Breihan singled it out as a track that “impressed the absolute hell” out of him, and you can practically hear the spit flying off McCullough’s vocal on the opening verse. It’s raw, urgent, and instantly one of the best Civic songs in the entire catalog — the perfect gateway track for new listeners.
Another Day
Clocking in at a lean 85 seconds, “Another Day” is Civic at its most ferociously concise. The song’s speed and urgency threaten to break necks, as one reviewer memorably put it, and there’s barely time to catch your breath before it’s over. That brevity is a feature, not a bug — it captures the frantic energy of the band’s live sets better than almost anything else on Future Forecast. If you want to understand why critics kept comparing this record to classic Australian punk and pub rock, this track is exhibit A.
As Seen On TV
At over four minutes, “As Seen On TV” is one of the longer, more expansive songs on Future Forecast, giving the band room to stretch out structurally in a way the shorter EP tracks never allowed. The lyrics take satirical aim at consumer culture and media saturation, a theme that pairs naturally with the song’s slightly warped, hall-of-mirrors guitar tones. There’s a mounting tension across the verses that finally resolves in a genuinely cathartic back half. It’s one of the more ambitious arrangements in the band’s early catalog and rewards a proper front-to-back listen.
Just A Fix
Fans on Bandcamp have called “Just A Fix” their favorite track on Future Forecast, and it’s easy to hear the appeal — it’s got one of the album’s stickiest hooks wrapped in a tight, economical arrangement. The song’s lyrical concern with dependency and craving gives it real emotional weight beneath the driving rock and roll surface. Production-wise it’s a great showcase for how confidently the band by this point balanced grit with genuine melodicism. It’s a strong argument for Future Forecast being the moment Civic fully arrived as songwriters, not just a great live band.
Tell The Papers
“Tell The Papers” got its own dedicated feature from Stereogum in 2021, with critic Tom Breihan praising the band’s basement-punk energy and describing their overall sound as “huge and basic and extremely gratifying.” That description fits this track perfectly — it’s got a straightforward, driving structure that leans hard into hooks without sacrificing any bite. The vocal phrasing here is particularly sharp, with McCullough riding the rhythm section’s pocket rather than fighting against it. It’s a great example of Civic doing a lot with deceptively simple ingredients.
Sunday Best
There’s a strutting, almost theatrical confidence to “Sunday Best” that separates it from the more frantic tracks surrounding it on Future Forecast. The arrangement gives the guitars a bit more space to develop actual riffs rather than just power chords, and the result feels closer to classic pub rock than straight punk. McCullough’s vocal performance leans into a sardonic, half-smirking delivery that suits the song’s title and subject matter. It’s a nice change of pace on the record and shows the band isn’t a one-speed machine.
Shake Like Death
“Shake Like Death” digs into a darker, more ominous lyrical space, and the arrangement follows suit with a heavier, more sustained guitar tone than much of the surrounding material. It’s one of the tracks on Future Forecast where you can really hear the band flirting with post-punk tension rather than pure garage-rock immediacy. The rhythm section holds a steady, almost hypnotic groove that lets the vocal melody do more of the emotional heavy lifting. On a good pair of headphones, the low-end rumble in the mix gives the whole track a genuinely unsettling physicality.
Back To You
Clocking in under three minutes, “Back To You” is a tight, hook-forward track that leans into the more melodic, power-pop-adjacent side of Civic’s songwriting. There’s a warmth to the guitar tone here that contrasts nicely with the harsher material elsewhere on Future Forecast, giving the song an almost bittersweet quality despite its driving tempo. The vocal melody is genuinely one of the catchiest on the record, which is saying something on an album this hook-dense. It’s an underrated cut that deserves a spot on any serious Civic playlist.
Hollywood Nights In Hamburg
“Hollywood Nights In Hamburg” plays with a travelogue-style narrative, evoking the road-worn, slightly disoriented feeling of touring life — fitting for a band that toured Europe as early as 2019 and played festivals like Golden Plains. The arrangement has a rolling, momentum-driven quality that mirrors that sense of motion, with the guitars trading rhythmic stabs back and forth throughout the verses. There’s a knowing wit to the lyrics that keeps the song from feeling like a straightforward road-trip cliché. It’s one of Future Forecast’s more narratively interesting moments.
Clone
“Clone” tackles themes of identity and conformity with a directness that suits Civic’s blunt lyrical style, wrapped in one of Future Forecast’s more aggressive, riff-driven arrangements. The guitar tone here is thick and distorted in a way that recalls the band’s earliest Anti-Fade releases, almost like a deliberate callback to their rougher origins. McCullough’s vocal delivery pushes into a more strained, urgent register that matches the song’s anxious subject matter. It’s a fierce, compact track that never overstays its welcome.
Come To Know
Closing out Future Forecast at nearly five minutes, “Come To Know” is the album’s most expansive and structurally ambitious song by a wide margin. Where most of the record favors short, blunt-force tracks, this closer takes its time, building through distinct sections rather than sticking to a single verse-chorus loop. It’s a genuinely satisfying way to end an album that critics praised as a grimy, unruly, but ultimately cohesive debut. If you only listen to one Civic song on headphones start to finish, make it this one — the dynamic range rewards patient listening. For more deep-dive breakdowns like this one, our full songs archive is worth exploring too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is Civic’s music?
Civic plays a raw, high-energy strain of rock that draws heavily from ’70s proto-punk, pub rock, and power pop, with obvious touchstones in bands like Radio Birdman, the Saints, and the Celibate Rifles. Critics have also noted flashes of garage rock and, on later material, even shoegaze and post-punk textures. The through-line across all of it is directness — hooky, unpretentious songwriting delivered with real ferocity.
What is Civic’s best album?
Future Forecast, released in March 2021 on Flightless Records, is widely regarded as the strongest distillation of Civic’s sound, earning praise from outlets like Stereogum for its grimy, unruly energy. Their 2023 follow-up Taken By Force earned four stars from Mojo and was praised by NME as a blunt, muscly rock record. Chrome Dipped, released in 2025 via ATO Records, shows the band stretching into new sonic territory.
Where is Civic from?
Civic is a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 2017, currently made up of Jim McCullough on vocals, Lewis Hodgson on guitar, Roland Hlavka on bass, and Eli Sthapit on drums. The band emerged from Melbourne’s tight-knit punk and garage-rock scene and has since toured internationally, including stops across Europe.
What labels has Civic released music on?
Civic’s earliest EPs and singles came out through Melbourne’s Anti-Fade Records between 2018 and 2019. They then signed to Flightless Records, home of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, for 2020’s “Radiant Eye” single and 2021’s Future Forecast. Since 2022, the band has released music through ATO Records and Cooking Vinyl Australia.
Is “Needle In The Camel’s Eye” an original Civic song?
No — it’s a cover of Brian Eno’s 1974 glam-rock track from his album Here Come the Warm Jets. Civic reworked it with a leaner, more aggressive garage-punk arrangement for their Those Who No EP, putting their own stamp on a genuine classic.