Solid Bond: The Complete Discography

CIV's brand of punk-pop seemed doomed from the outset. Too poppy to be accepted by "real" punks (they wore suits, for goodness sake!) and too punk to be fully absorbed into the mainstream, the quartet only lasted for two albums, 1995's Set Your Goals and 1998's Thirteen Day Getaway, before disbanding. The two albums plus some demos and live recordings are collected here on The Complete Discography. The band's brief moment in the spotlight came thanks to "Can't Wait One Minute More," its catchy single from Set Your Goals, which managed to blend the punk and pop together perfectly, with singer Civ joined by Sick of It All's Lou Koller in a kind of superheroes of punk meeting. The rest of the album is equal parts hardcore and poppy punk, punchily produced by Walter Schreifels and Don Fury, with uplifting, community-based lyrics and tough hooks — perhaps not too memorable but lots of fun. The follow-up further alienated the punks in their fan base by adding keyboards, horns, and a much cleaned-up sound. The songs, too, were much more pop, with big singalong choruses and Civ's vocals much smoother and less aggressive. While the punks may have hated it, fans of big dumb pop with a little punk (very little) thrown in for kicks should have embraced the album, and songs like "Everyday" and "Secondhand Superstar" should have been hit singles. Instead, the album never found an audience and the band was through. Maybe they were just ahead of their time, though, because Green Day of the late 2000s sound an awful lot like CIV did on Thirteen Day Getaway. The bonus tracks on the collection are nice add-ons, especially the live and rehearsal versions of "Can't Wait One Minute More."