Customer Reviews

Potemkin City Limits

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Definately top 5 material. I'd say their best release. This deserves more than 4 stars.

Being a Propagandhi fan for circa 10 years, I always find I am pleasantly surprised whenever they release a new album. By this I mean I find it hard to believe that they can top their effort on their last released album, but they always do.

Although it took the better part of 5 years to release, Potemkin City Limits is finally here and it has surprised once again. I think the main reason for their continued success as a band is their lack of recycling chords/melodies/phrases/lyrics/etc unlike most "punk" bands out there. Maybe it's the expansive distances between releases but every new Propagandhi album has a different "feel" and style that separates it from other Propagandhi albums and the rest of the generic "punk" bands.

Anyways, on to the actual album. The music is fantastic. Although I loved TETA it lacked dynamics. Sure the loud, shredding guitar riffs were great but that comprised most of the album. This is how PCL differs significantly from TETA. It still has fast and heavy tracks/passages but they are not superfluous and are much more dynamical. The album still has all the force and aggression of TETA, if not even more, but it is just brought forth in a different way. Todd's tracks which were great on TETA are excellent now. On most of his vocal tracks he sings instead of yells, although the yell is still present on a couple tracks (not a bad thing). Although many people dislike his singing I find it fantastic and a great compliment to Hannah's high, sarcastic and fast vocals.

On to the lyrics. The are by far the best they've ever been. They're smart, witty and frighteningly accurate. Chris's and Todd's lyrics touch on many important social and political issues such as the Iraq war, aboriginals and how we treat them, the modern music scene, immigration, amongst many other issues. My favourite track "A Speculative Fiction" is a fantasy of Chris's about Canada cutting off all ties with the US and the extradition of all Americans from Canada. Rather far-fetched but interesting non-the-less.

Overall I believe this is Propagandhi's best album to date. I hate to use the word but they've thoroughly "matured" as a band. The lyrics are accurate and poignant. The music covers wide ranges, from fast and heavy to quiet and reflective. The production is by far their best, especially concerning the drum production which had been lacking in all their previous records. This is just an exceedingly competent album that makes you take a moment and think and look at the world in a different way.

first off, its AMAZING that people actually believed that "glen" replaced chris. LISTEN TO THE VOICE!!! and not only that, you should know by now that the only thing you should take seriously from this band is the lyrics. thats it. yes, he does hit some really high notes on the new album, but come on. cant you tell?? haha, chris must be so amused by this. anyways onto the album. this album is so unique, its like nothing i have ever heard. they really took the "today's empires, tomorrow's ashes" sound to the next level. these songs are so incredibly well written, lyrically and musically. for hard, agressive music, this is really as good as it gets in my opinion. one thing i like a lot about the lyrics on this album is that a lot of them more or less tell a story, as opposed to their past approach which was more laying a foundation for their beliefs and ideas, now they expand on them by incorprating that into stories. its so amazing. at first i wasnt so into it, but now its consuming me!!! this is some of the most sincere music out there. so in conclusion, buy this!!! and prepare to be thrashed.

Propagandhi's new album is finally out after 4 loooooong years. They are back with pretty much the same sound they had on their last album, which is fast, heavy and dark. Lyrically, propagandhi has improved yet again from their last release, but there are a few things they could've improved upon.

What I think is wrong with this album is that it's quantity is low. Out of the 12 songs on this album, 5 of them were written by bass player Todd "the rod" Kowalski. Suffice to say his songwriting talents are nowhere near those of lead singer and guitarist Chris Hannah. After listening to the album a good 10 times already, I find myself skipping a few of his songs.

"Life At Disconnect" is easily the worst song and a good indication of how bad todd sounds when he sings slowly.

The rest of the album is totally excellent in every single way. All of Hannah's songs are excellent:

The best songs on the album happen to be the first 3. "A Speculative Fiction" continues in the Propagandhi tradition of writing excellent opening songs. "Fixed Frequencies" is my personal favorite.

"Die Jugend Marschiert" and "Name and Address Withheld" are 2 pretty good songs. Both are less dark and more satirical than the other tracks on the album and sound more like they're from "Today's Empires...".

"Rock For Sustainable Capitalism" is probably Hannah's weakest track, but it makes fun of Fat Mike from NOFX and other lame "punk-rock" bands so it's all good.

"Iteration" is a great closing track. It reminds me a lot of "Purina hall of Fame", and even has a blisteringly fast solo at the end.

Is this album worth getting? Definitely. Just make sure you give it a few listens before you decide how you feel about it. I didn't like it at first but now I think it's the second best album yet (behind Less Talk More Rock).

I was SO stoked to get this album when it first came out. I'd already been a longtime fan of "How To Clean Everything" and "Less Talk, More Rock," but the progression into their 3rd record "Today's Empires... Tomorrow's Ashes" absolutely blew my mind upon it's release.

It's no secret that Propagandhi lost some of their audience over the years due to their experimentation outside that "90's Fat Wreck Chords sound" into less humor-based/snotty material, which to me, is just closed-minded of those former listeners. By the time "Today's Empires..." came out, I thought there was no stopping the beautiful and intricately enhanced fury of the Propagandhi train. Then their 4th record, "Potemkin City Limits" came out...

The album opens with "A Speculative Fiction," which any fan of Anthrax's "Among The Living" should immediately raise an eyebrow to upon first listen. But as simply as I can state: THIS IS A LONG AND BORING RECORD. The band's performance is great, and Chris and Rod still produce some of the coolest melodic thrash riffs known to man, but there seem to be better song PARTS than actual songs. So many of these tracks are far too long in length, which there's nothing wrong with if you know what you're doing in epic dynamic arrangements, but that just isn't the case here. It seems as if the music took a back seat to the lyrical content on this album, and after several plays of it, I found myself repeatedly saying to myself, "End the damned song, already!!" In parody of their 2nd album, this one should've been named "Less Rock, More Talk." The only exception to the Potemkin Road To Boredom is "Superbowl Patriot XXXVI," a 30-something second track that does one very key thing - it's the ONLY track on the album that gets right to the point.

I'm not sure what it is about "Potemkin City Limits" that has earned it so many good reviews. I personally just can't get into it and I've really tried. But thankfully, their next album "Supporting Caste" would make up for my disappointment in this one.

If you loved the first three albums, AVOID THIS ONE and pick up "Supporting Caste" instead. Also, if you dig Rod's voice and have yet to purchase I Spy's "Perversity Is Spreading... It's About Time!" anthology, you're making a big mistake by not doing so.

Oh im so tired of ppl talking about how to clean.... That album sucks, it sounds like NOFX. This album is light years ahead of that album. Its one of my favs...

I'm not talking about the album, I'm talking about some of the other reviews. This album is GREAT and don't let anyone convince you otherwise. My only guess is that people are not into the release because they're not really into heavy music. This album is definitely heavier than TETA... it's a logical progression in their evolution as a band. They've had more time together and this is how they're going to sound... get over that fact if you're hoping for another HTCE or LTMR... it's not going to happen!

I won't bother saying any more about it... the album is a must-buy for everyone out there. I can't wait to see them next month (I'm taking a road trip to the States just to see them).

This band gets better with every CD. This is their best CD to date. The lyrics are far better then the last album. Musically they have grown as well. Best punk album in years!!!

I've never written a review on amazon, but I felt this needed it. Here's the deal- it will take you a few listens. They are correct to avoid the "punk" title and call themselves "progressive thrash." It's an extremely progressive record, it's closer to their last release "Today's Empires Tomorrow's Ashes" then any of their older stuff. Once I got through a few listens I loved this record. I love it more each time I hear it. It's great thrash, but it also is emotional and touches a part of my soul that hasn't been touched since the old days of punk. It's the best record I've heard in years, or will hear in years... give it it's fair airplay time in your house and car and it will be very rewarding. Read the lyrics, they're 50% of the record.

I made a big mistake before I dove into this album, I was hyping it up (in my mind of course, I don't have any friends) that it would thrash harder, rip harder, just be better than Today's Empires... So imagine how pissed I was when I first heard this record, I mean I threw up my arms and said "gawd! Propaghandi sucks now!" Now you should not get disheartened (or pissed off "oh he's bombing on the Ghandi, I'm going to tell him off!") because I am here to prep you, the uninitished, for the album. This album is in fact great and is not in fact lame, it's just diffrent, a lot more melodic (and Jordan can actually sing this time! Hurrah!) and it's more lyric driven, so don't go buying this album and crying to your mom about it! I made the mistake and it took me awhile to enjoy it's greatness, just remeber every Prop. album has something diffrent to bring to the table, though I got a lot more (and still do) joy out of Today's Empires... I cannot deny that thier new album is a clear step up and should not be disregarded. And besides, you'll probably be a grandpa by the time they put out another album, SO ENJOY IT! I'd say it's thier second best.