Review: Propaghandhi - Potemkin City Limits CD

I have no idea why Propaghandhi put Potemkin in the title of their latest cd since it references deceptions of prosperity and happiness put on by communist regimes to dazzle foreigners. In this context it's like a German calling Bush a nazi. Maybe it's one of those lies that reveals a greater truth. ok.

A staple of the Fat Wreck Chords lineup, Propaghandhi until recently were a snotty and goofy slappy-drum, reverse circle rodeo pit pop-hardcore band typical of the label. This new record is, as a fan points out on Amazon, "Progressive Trash". To me it's more like, "Hey, you got speed metal in my pop-punk", "And you got hardcore in my emo." I can't stand metal in any form but it's not the featured sound of the disc, and I actually like half of this a lot. There's a good amount of emo in tone and pacing, and the added hardcore elements only make it that much louder. Here's where I plug Seven Storey Mountain, who also did this very well but without the metal.

On humanistic principles I'm automatically against political pedophilia but the lyrics aren't as in your face stupid as Anti-Flag, and they're dumped towards the back. In a recent interview one of them laments past shows where dogma was endlessly preached between songs. Perusing their site I can accept they're sincere in their intentions, and even though they reference Marxist scumbags Noam "Gnome" Chomsky "Crapsky" and Howie Zinn, they at least have the good taste to not link to the usual Stalinist front groups.

Original Propaghandhi singer John K. Samson left the band in 1997 to form The Weakerthans, one of the most boring bands in alt.rock history. Their debut cd flew out of my collection faster than a vegetable out of Al Bundy's mouth.