Like so much music I've grown to love, discovering Civic Center was completely by chance. Both they and their record label, American Dreams, were unknown to me before 2020. Civic Center hail from Chicago, ground zero for a great deal of American industrial music, and the band takes its cues from the more classic sound of early British industrial. Their music is full of minimalist dirges, angular drums and guitars, and howling, distorted vocals. The sound is much like early Cabaret Voltaire mixed with kraut rock bands like D.A.F. and extreme post-punk bands like The Fall and The Birthday Party. Their record label is full of fascinating industrial, post punk and electronics. Another album on the label, Evicshen's Hair Birth, ended up as an honourable mention for 2020.
