Propagandhi – Failed States

September 4, 2012 • Epitaph Records

I'd been a mild fan of Propagandhi after I heard Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes but never really bothered to look into them beyond that. That is, until I decided to try out their new album Failed States on a whim—and boy am I glad I did. They've only gotten better in the last ten years and have put out an absolutely fantastic album, one of the best to come out this year for sure.

Punk bands usually get softer with age, but Propagandhi has fortunately played with the trend a bit. Failed States has has a bit more of a prog-rock flavor to it here and there, but they still play heavy and fast punk rock throughout and the overall mood is just as pissed-off as the band ever was. The music may be a bit more proggy than I would have liked ("Note to Self" sounds a bit like later Tool in parts, which is really weird), but they still slam as hard as ever when they want to: take the title track, which starts and ends as a blur of punk riffing that rivals their heaviest stuff on Today's Empires. As usual they still manage to be melodic at the same time, and I really love their melodic lines. That's more of a personal thing, I suppose, but I've always liked their melodies—they have a very distinct feel to them that just fits so well. The song absolutely solid throughout; the writing and playing are more or less perfect. (And check out those crazy bass guitar licks in "Status Update" and "Unscripted Moment"! And everywhere, really. I love me some bass.)

If I had to make any one complaint about the album (and of course I do), the last four songs on the album seem to just overshadow everything else—they're so good, and the beginning of the album is just okay. So listening to it straight through, I feel like I spend the first five tracks or so waiting to get to the end. But I guess that's just a testament to how much I enjoy those last four songs—seriously, "Unscripted Moment" and "Lotus Gait" are two of the best punk songs I've ever heard. No exaggeration.

If you're still reading at this point and haven't at least gone out and listened to one or two of the tracks by now, what the hell are you doing? I suppose that it might not be the most accessible album, even for people who like punk, but if you can get on board with what Propagandhi has been up to... well, for me at least, it's one of the most refreshing things I've heard yet from this year.

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Note: Epitaph has been kind enough to put up the whole album on YouTube! Check it out!