Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

Smallman/ G7 Records . 3/10/2009 . written by Oliver . genre: Melody Core/ Punk Rock . format: CD

I can puke, when I read those stupid reviews on Propagandhi's newest effort "Supporting Casting" - especially when these reviews got written by stupid idiots, that have not really concentrated on the bands message. Today I read a few reviews on the internet. Oh, how I hate these stupid-idiot-asshole reviews, when people focuss on unrelevant facts, like how powerful and political the band is - and how hardcore they are, or how much they kept their true intentions over the years. What a fuckers these authors are - their opinion is lame and the band's music is not even "hardcore" music to me. I mean it is true that Propagandhi has become much harder, since John K. Samson (now The Weakerthans) left in 1996 and Todd Kowalski joined. Todd, who sung in I Spy before, has a pretty raw voice. And I honestly have to admit that I dislike his vocal-contributions in Propagandhi, whilst he did very good in I Spy. I was so dissapointed when "Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes" came out in 2001, because Todd sung so many songs. On 2005 release "Potemkin City Limits" Chris Hannah once again did the main job on vocals and so he does on "Supporting Caste", which is the newest record that appears on small canadian indie label Smallman records - a label that has signed so many good bands, alike Comeback Kid, Sick City, The Reason and others. I read on the internet that the releation between Fatwreck (their american label) and them has turned out bitter over the years because of several political actions initiated by the band. I will try to find out more on this. Now I would love to concentrate on the new record, that got produced in collaboration with Bill Stevenson at the famous Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, Colorado. It seems as if Ryan Greene was yesterday - today Punk bands record with Bill Stevenson. "Supporting Caste" contains many interesting facts. First one to concentrate on is the amazing cover artwork, created by gay illustrator, filmmaker and visual artist Kent Monkman. I have already seen a lot of good covers. To me Hot Water Music really did best so far, but now Propagandhi shows their yet and I am astonished about the well done artwork: It shows a weird scenery that looks to me as if Spanish invadors assault indian natives. The inlay shows the band eating flesh - human flesh by the way - taking from a person, that looks like an Army-General sitting next to the band without skin and arms right at the table. The person is Sandor Katz, aka Sandorkraut – and it looks as if the band is doing alright while they enjoy "him" with a great red whine. The booklet contains tons of quotes by american writers and poetics. We already knew the concept of taking quotes since the release of "Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes" (Fatwreck 2001) and so the band continues the path on “Supporting Caste”. To me it is obvious that Propagandhi is not that kind of “political-happy-core-sing-a-long band” from 93' any more. Their great release "How To Clean Everything" is still a fantastic and classic release but the band has changed. Their messages on homophobia, human rights, racism, fascism, woman rights, capitalism are of a more intensive- and yet deeper sense than ever before. Indeed they also have become better musicians. I can truly proove this fact, especially when I listen to the well guitar and drum work. Chris Hannah plays such intensive and complex riffs, that it makes me almost pee my pants. Jord, who is an ace on drums, plays so very furious and skillful that it makes me pee my pants right in this moment. “Supporting Caste” contains twelve very distinctive Rock songs with a huge political approach. Yet there are only 3 songs that got sung by Todd – honestly I am very fine with that decision. Chris – who belongs to the very best singers that I have ever heard – is doing the majority of the vocals. I was always a true fan of the band. They really influenced my thinking – and this is no joke. They even influenced my writing and my ideas, when I was writing my Diploma. I clearly remember how their releases also made me sing-a-long to their great refrains and melodies. These times are over since the release of “Supporting Caste”. Their music shows so many complex structures that makes it hard for me to find out real rhymes or refrains. I wish I had better skills in english, to analyse their complex and intelligent lyrics. Chris is not singing about “faded stickers on a skateboard” any more, just like he did in 93’, instead you find references on writers and poetics, authors and politicians. I also like the hidden cover track “Come to the sabbath” by occult Rock band “Black Widow”. This review has almost taken 2 hours of my personal time. So listen carefully to this record!

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Rank: (4 out of 5)

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