Civil War (stylized as C I V I L W A R) is the fourth album by the Minneapolis, Minnesota punk rock band Dillinger Four, released on October 14, 2008, by Fat Wreck Chords.

[8][9] The album went unreleased in the Spring and Summer of 2007, however, and guitarist Bill Morrisette stated in September that the band were still working on it: The new record is coming along great!

"[11] Months continued to pass with no release details, however, and on April 1, 2008, the music news website Punknews.org poked fun at Civil War's long-delayed release by making a fake news post in celebration of April Fools' Day giving false cover artwork and song titles for the album.

[14] On August 19, 2008 Fat Wreck Chords posted the official cover artwork on their website and set a release date of October 14.

In an interview with Chart magazine shortly before Civil War's release, Funk reflected on the reasons for the long delay:We weren't trying not to put out a record.

Aaron Hale-Williams, a writer for the online publication Racket Magazine, was given a password-encoded streaming media version of the album by Fat Wreck Chords so that he could publish a review prior to its release.

[21][22] Racket Magazine Editor Jonathan Yost learned of the leak from Hale and contacted Fat Wreck Chords: "He called me to tell me how good it was, and mentioned that he gave it to 'two or three' people.

Heisel had been covering news of Civil War's recording and development for Alternative Press and learned of the album leak, which he called "illegal...immoral and immature.

"[22] He contacted Fat Wreck Chords to inform them of the situation at about the same time as Yost, and learned that the Hale was the suspected source of the leak: When I asked a friend who worked for Fat where they think the leak came from, they pinpointed it to one specific person from a specific magazine (again, not AP) who had been begging them to hear the record.

[22] Yost subsequently fired Hale from Racket Magazine, explaining that "it was very obvious that this was a giant fuck up on our homeslice’s part.

"[21] Hale responded with his version of events on his blog: I'm sorry for whom I hurt [at Fat Wreck Chords], but the truth is...I did my job, in a roundabout way.

"[23] In the wake of the controversy artist Mitch Clem published a six-part comic strip satirizing the events in his webcomic Nothing Nice to Say.

[25] Punknews.org editor Jesse Raub addressed the situation in his blog, stating that "It sucks that Mr. Hale’s decision to share the album with his friends turned out this way.

[29] Reviewer Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic commented that the album "[holds] strong to their melodic punk roots, but [shows] a new, more mature side of the band.

"[30] Chris Fallon of Absolutepunk.net also praised the album, calling it "a new stitch in a damaged American flag; it's the healthy new dose of oxygen we are severely in need of in a crippled music industry starved of substance."

"[1] He also remarked that their hiatus had distanced them from contemporary punk, and thus Civil War sounds dated and "lacks bite and innovation.

"[1] Heisel also felt that it did not measure up to the promise of the band's earlier work, stating that "While the album has bright spots, overall it feels a bit dull and without the spark that made 1998's Midwestern Songs of the Americas so fresh and exciting.

Club remarked that the album was "mostly interchangeable with its predecessors, right down to the silly samples that bookend the songs" and that "after six long years, it would've been nice for Dillinger Four to deliver something beyond more of the same".

[33] He did note, however, that the band's pop tendencies were more prominent than on previous releases, and that Funk's vocals were clearer, citing "Contemplate This on the Tree of Woe" and "Americaspremierefaithbasedinitiative" as strong tracks and saying that "Fruity Pebbles" "may be D4's most accessible song yet".