Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

Canada’s angriest sons are back, with another platter of “progressive thrash” screeds against the injustice they see in the world, be it toward people, animals, or the earth itself.

It’s been nearly 4 years since their last LP, Potemkin City Limits, dropped, bringing with it some increased leanings toward metal, and less straightfoward punk rock. Supporting Caste further moves the band down this path. The addition of a second guitarist has expanded their attack, and seems to have amped up their ferocity. These guys play by the “loud fast rules” playbook, and every ounce of anger and frustration in the lyrics is reflected in the music. There are no love songs here.

As usual, the album features dual vocalists. I tend to prefer when Chris gets on the mic (the title track, “Tertium Non Datur,” etc.) to Todd, but that’s personal preference. They both have their strengths as vocalists, and the songs they sing suit them. Todd’s vocals appear more on the brutally fast, more hardcore-influenced songs like “Incalculable Effects.”

Oddly, there’s a song on this record called Potemkin City Limits. I realize that it happens, but it’s weird to see another album’s title track on a different album.

It’s strange; I really, really enjoy this album. I’ve loved where Propagandhi has gone with their music since their debut, How To Clean Everything, and particularly with their most recent releases Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes and Potemkin, and this album is very much a continuation of the musical trend the band emabrked upon with those albums. So, by that logic, people who liked/loved those albums will like/love this album. Propagandhi have very strong opinions about the world around them, and they’ve never shied away from that; they have songs with titles like “With Friends Like These, Who the Fuck Needs COINTELPRO?” and “Rock for Sustainable Capitalism.”  That hasn’t changed here, though the titles are less explicit.

Supporting Caste finds the band further honing their attack, and getting better and better as time goes on. Chris has claimed that the near-collapse of G7 Welcoming Committee (their record label) will give them more time to work on the band, so we as fans won’t have to wait nearly as long between albums. If they keep producing material like this, I dearly hope that’s true.

Propagandhi - Potemkin City Limits

Well, considering that today is Election Day in the U.S.A., and since I mentioned the band yesterday in the Rise Against review, I suppose it would be only fair to talk about the band.

Propagandhi formed in 1986, in Canada. Originally, according to legend, they were going to be a “progressive thrash band,” or so says the ad they placed for a bassist in a local record store. From the get-go, these guys were pretty political; the label they run is called G7 Welcoming Committee, after all, and their albums contain song titles like “With Friends Like These, Who the Fuck Needs COINTELPRO?” (Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes) and “Apparently, I’m a ‘P.C. Fascist’ (Because I Care About Both Human and Non-Human Animals)” (Less Talk, More Rock).

Four years after their 2001 release, Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes, the band returns with Potemkin City Limits. And, no two ways about it, this album rips. In the years since their first record, the band has adopted a stronger metal leaning, with more breakdowns and solos present than many of their straight-up punk contemporaries. It’s hard to listen to tracks like the killer opener “A Speculative Fiction” or “Rock for Sustainable Capitalism” and not want to air guitar in your room (or maybe that’s just me). At any rate, the music contained on this album is fast and brutal.

As for the lyrics, they’re typical latter-day Propagandhi; songs sung by one of two vocalists, typically not mixing, and lyrics that are rants against whatever topic the band is concerned about for that 3-5 minute burst of focused aggression. While the band takes its political beliefs seriously, there’s some humor in the lyrics (and anyone who’s followed the band is aware of their sense of humor); on “Rock for Sustainable Capitalism” there’s a jab at NOFX’s lament “How did punk rock become so safe?” from their song “Separation of Church and Skate.” NOFX later referred to Propagandhi on their song “The Marxist Bros.” (note: all of Propagandhi’s albums have been released via Fat Mike’s Fat Wreck Chords).

This is a really great album, and should be owned by anyone who enjoys political punk. It picks up right where Today’s Empires… left off, and carries the Prop torch well. Now, it’s been about 4 years, hopefully we’ll see a new album soon.

Rating: 4 stars