Barely Civil

Barely Civil, Midwest emo players who actually live in the region, are here to unravel their own mythos. Like any third volume, their latest LP isn’t so much a sequel. It’s a reappraisal of how their subconscious dreads crystallize into raucous, and sometimes restrained, moments of thawing clarity.

I’d Say I’m Not Fine (2024) sees the group — now joined by Aux Doucette on bass — injecting more melodic groove and energy into what was already an exercise in catharsis. Again produced by Chris Teti (TWIABP, Fiddlehead), it’s a more cohesive, collaborative effort that reaches for nostalgia as much as it attempts to negate it. Here, they finally complete their sentences—if not with confidence, at least the hooks sink in.