Barely Civil puts together a solid group of power-pop songs for their album “We Can Live Here Forever.” Like most pop-punk or power-pop there isn’t a whole lot that will blow you away but it is also a great listen.

On the chanting of the opening track “I’ve Been Getting Headaches Lately” you can feel the clean production and mood of the album. Songs like “RE: Your Lungs” are the best here, the cigarette story is narrated by a crunchy guitar lick collection and the rhythm section that dominates most of this record. On the exotically and cleverly titled “Eau Claire? Oh, Claire.” the smooth vocal stylings of Connor Erickson float like they do on the throughout all the songs. At times he sounds like Matthew Caws in early Nada Surf like on “You With A Cape, Me With A Baseball Bat” and other times he can ratchet it up to a emphatic shout like Tim Kasher of Cursive like on “RE: Your Lungs.”

This is a good collection of songs, it never wears thin. The textures are interesting and the lyrics are emotional and effective. The rhythm section of the band along with the driving guitar riffs ultimately drive it. It’s tight in all the right places and loose in all the right places, a truly solid debut by a band that would have fit right in in the music scene of the early 2000s.

Key Tracks: “RE: Your Lungs” “You With A Cape, Me With A Baseball Bat”