Propagandhi... One Great Band

I was at The Burton Cummings Theatre Saturday night to see The Weakerthans perform their last studio album from 2007 Reunion Tour. I was instead surprised with all four albums played in reverse order, and although The Weakerthans aren’t near my top ten for bands, I have always been a fan of John K Samson, and the fact that Anchorless , a Propagandhi redo, was the second last song played I was pumped to be into show right to the very end.
But that is enough of that, on to my favourite Winnipeg based release ever - Propagandhi’s “Less Talk, More Rock. This is the album that “Anchorless” is originally on, in the forth track, and it is surrounded by some of the most enlightened tunes I listened as a kid including the title track, which is a slower tune, but the lyrical content and the time changes make it a crowd pleaser when ever played in shows, and one ditty that I can assure you will be sung if you listen to it at home when alone - even if you aren’t.
If you are into the Fat Wreck Chords scene you have probably heard “And We Thought Nation-States were a bad idea. There is a reason for that. This song combines great music, with great lyrics, and they are so well written that they even have that catchy vibe pop-garbage has, only there is meaning to what Propagandhi does, but I have a feeling songs like this may be why Propagandhi turned in to a completely different band after about a five year hiatus.
There isn’t much else to say about this album other than songs like “Apparently I Am A P.C. Fascist“, “Nailing Descartes to the Wall, “Resisting Tyrannical Government“, and “I was a pre-teen McCarthiest“. Are a great mix of 90s skate punk melodies, and a whole heck of a lot of lyrical content, even one nice track call “Public Dis-Service Announcement” that mocks Shell’s involvement in international affairs.
This album is faster and harder than any Weakerthan’s album, but you can really hear Samson’s influence on the band before he left.
See a review collaboration between Andrew Parker and I on the Weakerthans show in the next issue of The Projector. Just a taste - there is mention of a “Judy for Mayor” shirt, and Winnipeggers beating the traffic.