If there’s anywhere in the world that rock and roll is seeing a particularly dramatic revival it’s Australia, with intense and equally playful groups like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Amyl & the Sniffers rebranding punk, psych, and plenty of other subgenres for contemporary audiences. While they may have missed the memo on band-naming conventions, Melbourne’s CIVIC are equally responsible for all the excitement around this scene, with their recently released second album Taken by Force leaning into influences of garage punk, surf rock, jangle pop, and more, while vocalist Jim McCullough in turns evokes the punk spirits of Iggy Pop and Jay Reatard.
Before the group left home to spend the week in Austin at SXSW, they recorded a “Neighborhoods” set in Victoria, Australia, in which they lean into the jangliest influence on their new record with a fully acoustic performance of the album track “Blood Rushes.” With the track’s lo-fi vibe, it feels appropriate that they opted to film it in grainy VHS quality. Watch them strum through the track on the bank of Watson’s Creek below, and catch them at our SXSW showcase this Thursday at the Mohawk. You can RSVP here.
