From Manitoba, Canada, Propagandhi return with their new single “Cat Guy” ahead of their upcoming record ‘At Peace’ out on May 2nd. A blistering anthem dripping with sardonic wit and razor-sharp critique, the track finds the Canadian quartet as incisive as ever, wielding breakneck riffs and subversive lyricism with a smirk and a snarl.
A tribute to societal identity with a twist, “From my songwriting perspective, the two things I was thinking of was capturing a little bit of Judas Priest’s Firepower LP as if SNFU’s Chi-Pig was writing the lyrics,” laughs frontman Chris Hannah.
In true Propagandhi fashion, At Peace is smart music for dangerous times. The ever-evolving standard-bearers of politically charged punk have actively kicked against musical confines and bro-punk conservatism, promoting a message of anti-fascism since 1986. Distilling their DNA of breakneck riffs, hardcore ethos, and radical consciousness, their message remains as vital, and volatile, as ever.
“Everything I’m singing about is still coming from being the same person that wrote and sang our first record ‘How to Clean Everything’ in 1993,” Hannah recalls the band’s snarky skate-thrash origins. “But what we’re putting into the songs now, probably reflects more despair than 30 years ago when we had similar perspectives, but with strands of hope and naivete. Now it’s the existential dread of eking out a life worth living in this completely failed society.”
There’s no mistaking that on their first album in eight years, their frontline social activism has been supplanted by a deeper sense of reflection. Nearly a decade later, the members of Propagandhi have a lot on their minds. “We’re definitely not a band that responds well to someone telling us we need to put something out,” the frontman continues. “That happens when we have something to talk about – and now is definitely the time for that.”
Marking their first release since 2017’s Victory Lap, At Peace was forged during the ominous political climate in the months before “Emperor” Trump’s ascent to power. Penned shortly before the American oligarch’s suggestion that Propagandhi’s home country become the U.S.’s 51st State, it was then mixed by Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Hot Water Music) at Blasting Room Studios in December 2024. This collection of poetic and polemic songs captures the anxieties and turmoil of the band’s four members, offering a powerful and poignant portrait of uncertainty.
Though at its core, At Peace is Propagandhi’s plea for hope against hopelessness. “Twenty years ago, we had a sense that things are fucked but that there could be a mass mobilization of people against the oligarchy, the billionaire class,” says Chris. “I don’t think that exists much in our music anymore and I don’t believe that mobilization is forthcoming. I hope to be proven wrong.”
Propagandhi is vocalist Chris Hannah, drummer Jord Samolesky, bassist/co-vocalist Todd Kowalski andguitarist Sulynn Hago.
At Peace Tracklisting
1. At Peace 2. Prismatic Spray (The Tinder Date) 3. Rented P.A. 4. Guiding Lights 5. Cat Guy 6. No Longer YounG 7. Stargazing 8. God of Avarice 9. Benito’s Earlier Work 10. VampireS Are Real
It’s been a hot minute since Portland Oregon’s My New Vice released any material. Covid had signaled the band’s demise, and the emergence of The Melders seemed to cement that notion, but as it turns out, it was a bit more of a hiatus, or perhaps a long sleep. Here we are though, and 2025 marks the return of My New Vice with 7 new tracks of heavy rock and roll.
This release straddles the space between an EP and an LP, clocking in at about 27 minutes. Songs in the upper 3 to 4 minute range tend to be a bit outside of my fleeting cat-like attention span, but the tone and pace work well for this band.
The material feels darker and more brooding than earlier work, which was in no way short on darkness and brooding. I suppose it’s a sign of the times. It’s not all sludgecore and doomgrind though, tracks like Track 5. Babadook leans hard into thrash metal territory with a bit of Metallica does Diamond Head covers vibe.
Perhaps it’s the sound of the NW coming though, but I can’t help but notice the Red Fang influence on some tracks, especially Track 6. “Witch”. I don’t want to pigeon hole anyone, but to help you identify the sound, there’s also elements of Corrosion of Conformity, and some rather Sound Garden-esque vocal qualities at points.
On the whole it’s a great album, especially for fans of darker heavy rock and metal. Horns up for My New Vice and their new release Truth About Lies.
St Louis punks Fight Back Mountain share “Sticker Book”. This new song is the final single released in anticipation of their Death And The Miser album (out Feb 13th). “Sticker Book” is perhaps the album’s most reflective and affecting outing; lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino describes the song’s inspiration, saying “I was thinking of my grandma who died of an eating disorder decades before I was born. It instilled a very deep specific feeling when I first heard that story. The song evolved to represent our moments of melancholy that stop us and invoke an undefinable yet specific emotion.”
“Sticker Book” stands in striking contrast to the most-recent Fight Back Mountain release “No Recourse”. While the latter placed the band’s hardcore influences up front on a raging dispatch against a world going to rot, “Sticker Book” slows the pace and incorporates 90s alt rock influences on a slow burner that steadily drives the emotions home.
Death And The Miser is the third full-length outing from Fight Back Mountain. Vinyl and digital preorders are now available, here. Across twelve cuts, the album lays out a testament to modern life in flyover country and the dawning realization that everything you were told growing up is no longer true. The first hint of the Death And The Miser arrived in November 2024 with the release of the stormy ripper “Trouble & Havoc”.
This new album is the result of the band’s latest sessions with longtime producer Gabe Usery at Encapsulated Studios. Usery previously helmed the band’s releases Times Beach (2019), Lavender Sky (2021), and the Backslider EP (2023). As always, the Fight Back Mountain lineup is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Adrian Barnello, lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino, bassist Andy Kohnen and drummer Devin Dessieux.
I’m listening to the new EP, “Atomic Summer” from Southeast England’s Popclaw. It’s got four tracks of peppy punk rock, created by a duo who’ve never stepped foot in the same room. (Ain’t technology amazing!?)
Track 1: Let’s Start A Riot reminds me a bit of Rancid, in a good way. In particular it makes me think of some of the more Lars-centric tracks.
Track 2: Anthem of Chaos has a sweet vocal hook that keeps running through my head, and after a few listens really has a similar vibe to Blood Rushes by Aussie punk band, Civic. If not a total coincidence, a solid influence.
Track 3: The titular track, Atomic Summer has a delivery that reminds me of something that I can’t quite pin down, but I like it.
Track 4: Chasing Shadows is the longest on the EP and is a bit of a dissonant number. It’s got some garage / lo-fi vibes to it, without being overly scrappy.
Atomic Summer: A fun EP from the geographically diverse Popclaw. I like the nature and direction, and look forward to hearing more in the future.
The EP will be available on all major streaming platforms 3rd January, 2025.
Soul Asylum are one of those bands that require a long conversation. Unfortunately, that conversation usually begins with “Runaway Train”. It’s great song, don’t get me wrong, not to mention being just one of many from one of the most successful alternative records of the early 90s. Helped in part by its video with information about real life missing children, the song even got the band a gig on the White House lawn, going double platinum in the process. They got famous. Very famous. Dave Pirner married Winona Ryder and their songs were in Kevin Smith and I Know What You Did Last Summer movies. They also got lumped in with commercial grunge bands, and likewise had diminishing returns on subsequent albums. That pretty much wraps up the depth of most people’s knowledge of them. Meteoric rise, and predictable downfall. A product of the era.
Soul Asylum aren’t just a popular 90s alternative band who played at the White House though. They’re an 80s punk band who played at 7th Street Entry (and certainly the only band to have ever played both). The aforementioned Grave Dancers Union album was not some magical debut like Pearl Jam’s Ten. It was in fact the band’s fifth studio record, and their actual contemporaries were not the Seattle bands at all. Soul Asylum made up one third of the elite 1980s Twin Cities punk trifecta of Husker Du and The Replacements. Their original name was Loud Fast Rules. Their progression through that decade was incredible, and each one of those five early albums contain all-time favorite songs of mine. “Stranger” off 1984’s Say What You Will… is a Tom Waits meets Replacements drunken ballad with saxophones, and the rest of that record sounds like a wasted Gang of Four. You could put “Ship of Fools” off 1986’s Made to Be Broken on any East Bay punk comp a few years later and it would not only fit in, but be one of the best tracks on there. “Crashing Down” from also 1986’s (remember, this is 1986 when punk bands put out multiple records in the same calendar year) While You Were Out with its Kurt Bloch-style leads could’ve been written by the Fastbacks. “Cartoon” from 1988’s major label debut Hang Time is maybe my favorite song, period. It’s right up there with “Springtime” and “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg”, an actual perfect song I’ve listened to at least a thousand times.
I didn’t know all the backstory either when I was 13 and bought Grave Dancers Union on cassette. I loved it for about a year, along with my Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and other mainstream alternative juggernauts of the time. I then started get into punk proper, and like any other super rational genius 15-year-old with tons of life experience, decided to shun all music that didn’t fit my new identity. Soul Asylum were gone from my collection, and for a long time.
I’d had people tell me from time to time about those classic Soul Asylum records, but I just couldn’t get over the hurdle of where my 15-year-old brain had categorized them all those years ago. I then heard “Cartoon” and “Sometime to Return” off Hang Time, and slowly started to add songs to my iTunes library. The real tipping point was taking a chance with their boxset The Twin/Tone Years I found on sale in 2018. I’ve probably listened to them more than any other band since then, and the five records in there are always toward the front of my stack.
Getting to the point of this article no one asked me to write, I finally went and saw Soul Asylum last week. I had skipped doing so in the past because of two different reasons. 1) I used to be 13 years old and didn’t have a car. 2) My strong preference for their older material, which I figured they wouldn’t play live. Especially after long time guitarist Danny Murphy left the band, it seemed like it’d be SA in name only. I’ve come to appreciate songs from their entire catalog since then, and in particular feel as though 2006’s The Silver Lining is just as stacked with double platinum hits as Grave Dancers Union. Also, like all truly great bands, it turns out even their “bad” records have good songs. I decided to finally go for it and bought a ticket.
With the conversation I had with my wife the night before still fresh in my mind, where she misidentified Soul Asylum as Collective Soul (which was met with a swift, pressured and irrepressible response explaining that I was in fact going to see a legendary Minneapolis punk band), I stepped into the venue to find that the person in front of me in line was a youth with a mohawk. “I knew it,” I thought to myself. Then that person moved and the guy in front of them was wearing a Collective Soul shirt. Dammit. She’s always right. She’s also pretty tired of hearing about legendary Minneapolis punk bands.
In any case, I’m encouraged by the sight of some young folks in attendance. As I wait for my friend to arrive, drinking my $8 venue wine and leaning against the wall with one leg kicked up like a badass, I’m noticing this crowd is difficult to categorize. Most shows I go to are primarily middle-aged men with hats, beards, and black band t shirts. This place looks like a rural campground. Sure, there are other people here who clearly like Replacements, but also lots of families with teenage kids, gray haired couples, aged 90s mainstream rock fans, and even a fair amount of what we used to call “hippies”. The chalkboard next to me has two messages scrawled on it that are clearly written by two people of separate and non-neighboring generations.
~Old Person
My friend I haven’t seen in a long time arrives, and we go into the show space in high spirits (glad to see each other and $8 show wine topped off) just as The Juliana Hatfield Three take the stage. They’re playing their 1993 record Become What You Are in its entirety. I can’t say I’m terribly familiar them, but this was a personal favorite of my sister’s in high school, and I find myself recognizing most of the songs. They sound great, and it appears a significant portion of the crowd is also here for them. Solid opener.
My older sister’s favorite band in high school, The Juliana Hatfield Three
We duck out into the hallway for the last few songs for a refill and to catch up. Some guy in old jeans with the knees blown out and scruffy long hair walks by and we make eye contact. He’s dressed in classic Pirner attire with the same kind of precision you’d expect from a Dave Pirner Halloween costume. I thought I was a big Soul Asylum fan, jeez. Then he walked backstage. Oh, that was Dave Pirner. I sort of wished I’d noticed earlier so I could say hello, but am also relieved in hindsight that I didn’t have the opportunity to ask him what touring with Das Damen was like in 1987.
As we make our way back into the venue space, it appears as though the protests of the older attendees has been successful. The seated balcony area is open and full of gray hair. This has left the floor half empty and somewhat sparse, so we have no difficulty walking right up to the stage. The band come out to the tune of the Love Boat, and then waste no time belting out the lead-off track from Grave Dancers Union, “Somebody to Shove”. I have to admit, it’s blowing my hair back.
The concern with concerts like these is that they’ll feel sad. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s obvious, but you can usually tell if a band doesn’t really want to be doing it anymore (especially if you get up close). This iteration of Soul Asylum is enjoying themselves, and it’s easily reflected in their performance. They’re a proper unit, and the entire show is a good time. Even the funkier songs like “April Fools” and “Sucker Maker” that I don’t like very much are a lot of fun live. They did in fact play a few oldies too. “Never Really Been” off Made to Be Broken and “Little Too Clean” off Hang Time were a blast to hear in person (even if the latter wasn’t followed up by the next two songs on that album, “Sometime to Return” and “Cartoon”). Other personal highlights were my favorite songs from Silver Lining and Let Your Dim Light Shine respectively, “Bus Named Desire” and the encore “String of Pearls”.
The only time Dave Pirner showed any signs of going through the motions was the brief sigh he appeared to take on his way up to the microphone at the beginning of “Runaway Train”. Who could blame him? How many thousands of times has this man played that song, for many years to large rooms full of people who didn’t know the rest of the catalog? It made me wonder where Soul Asylum would be today in the lexicon of punk history if they had broken up in 1990, before they broke through. Funnily enough, I think they’d be more successful now. They’d probably be playing an evening slot at Riot Fest on a reunion tour, Josh Freese would be playing drums, and everyone else would hold them in the same high esteem they have for The Replacements and Husker Du. History is unkind to people and bands who achieve the highest level of fame and then lose it.
I’m glad I didn’t have to sit through an entire day of an over-hyped music festival to see Soul Asylum play live though. Sometimes it’s nice to not be surrounded by middle aged white guys in hats, beards, and black band t shirts. I like people watching at rural campgrounds, and I like that Soul Asylum are unfashionable. Their legacy should ultimately be that they’re one of the best rock and roll bands our country has ever produced. It’s only their unique, meandering career trajectory that clouds the waters of what’s transpired.
In 1986 Dave Pirner asked the question on the song Never Really Been, “Where will you be in 1993?”. The answer wound up being performing on the South Lawn of the Clinton-era White House in celebration of the signing of the National and Community Service Trust Act. Probably not the answer he would have forecasted. When Soul Asylum played that same song at the show, Dave changed the lyrics to, “Where will you be in 2033?”. Still touring and kicking ass, I hope. I’ll be there for it if you are.
The Fastbacks have survived virtually every era of punk, somehow managing to sound fresh, interesting, and unfashionable every step of the way. Forming in 1979 in Seattle, they played early gigs with bands like DOA and The Lewd, and also opened for bigger touring bands like the Ramones. Pre-Guns ‘N Roses Duff McKagen was even their drummer for a little while in the 80s, a decade in which they released a handful of classic EPs and a couple records on PopLlama. They signed to Sub Pop at the height of the label’s power in the early 90s, releasing three more seminal full lengths and slough of more 7″s. The band finally called it quits in the early 2000s after one more LP on spinART. After they split, guitar player/principal songwriter/sometimes drummer Kurt Bloch continued working with the Young Fresh Fellows, as well as his many other side projects. Bassist/singer Kim Warnick joined Visqueen, and then moved to Maine, quitting music altogether. 2011 and 2018 saw one-off reunion shows in Seattle, and the band’s label No Threes has been trickling out vinyl comps of their old EPs and B sides (most of which are still available from their Bandcamp page, and all of which are essential). Songs spanning their career like “In America”, “Gone to the Moon”, “On the Wall”, “Just Say”, “Goodbye Bird”, “Impatience”, “In the Winter”, and countless others are timeless bangers I’ve listened to hundreds of times.
I’d been more familiar with their earlier records, but I recently listened to an interview with Tony Molina where he said not only were the Fastbacks his favorite band, but that his favorite album was 1999’s The Day That Didn’t Exist. I went back and listened to it again, and damned if he didn’t have a strong case. I also went and picked up a copy of 1996’s New Mansions in Sound and was equally blown away. Working my way backward through their catalog, I came to the conclusion that the Fastbacks just kept getting better with each release. This pattern arguably continues with their first new full length in 25 years, For What Reason!.
Reunion albums don’t have a great reputation, but the past 10-15 years have seen some truly remarkable success stories in bands putting out some of their best material post-reuniting. Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk, Quicksand, Hot Snakes, and Lifetime to name a few. The Fastbacks are definitely at the top of the list now as well. The original three of Kurt, Lulu, and Kim are all here, as well as who I consider to be the quintessential FB drummer (there have been many) Mike Musberger. Original line up reunions are the best. Kurt Bloch is possibly the best punk rock guitarist of all time. Nobody can rip a solo that doesn’t ruin a song like he can. It’s great to hear him plying his trade with his old bandmates again.
for WHAT reason! opens with a classic Kurt Bloch lead on “The End of the Day”, and before long Kim and Lulu have you hooked in what is an instant Greatest Hits Fastbacks song. This is followed up by the Kim penned “Come On”, which has a bit of power pop feel to it, but equally catchy and also makes it onto the Greatest Hits. A cover of The Seekers 1966 “I’ll Never Find Another You” comes next. To know the Fastbacks is to know the true art of faithfully covering an obscure 60s classic, while also making it unmistakenly their own. Nobody does it better. Reading the comments on the Bandcamp page, this is mentioned as a lot of people’s favorite track on the album.
This perfect run to start the record continues with my personal favorite “Nothing To Do”, which has everything that makes a proper Fastbacks banger so special. Hooks, harmonies, instantly memorable, but also a GREAT bridge. No one writes a better bridge than our man Kurt Bloch. He has such a musically prolific embarrassment of riches that he can afford to use up a perfect little riff or lead one time in the middle of a song, rather than taking that immense quality and framing an entirely new song out it. There are truly no bad tracks on here. Another notable favorite is the album closer, “The World Inside”, showcasing that the Fastbacks are capable of writing not only perfect two minute bangers, but also seven minute ballads of equal quality. The initial run of these have sold out, but keep an eye on their Bandcamp page as they plan on repressing more. While you’re there, grab a copy of literally anything else that’s still available. There is no bad starting point if you’re just looking to begin your Fastbacks journey, including for WHAT reason!
I’m currently rocking Jam Packed, the new release by Three Fingers, a self-described “power pop punk” band from Seattle.
I think the description is apt. The 14 track album immediately hits with a decidedly 90s era 120 Minutes vibe. There’s a bit more Riot grrrl aggression as opposed to a lilting wallflower aesthetic, coupled with taut punk riffs, it makes for a solid mix. The songs are “pretty” but there is an underlying anxiety to them. Hard to not relate to anxiety these days.
The songs are compact and uptempo, relatively. Mostly running around the 2 minute mark. This is definitely in my wheelhouse. (I’m not sure how I listened to so many epic sweeping metal tracks back in the day without losing interest, but I digress.) Production is great. Not overdone, not underdone. Well balanced to fit the vocal forward tunes.
Tracks: 1. Feels Weird 2. Love This Part 3. Moving On 4. Bummer 5. I’m Still Here 6. Glass Houses 7. S.O.S. 8. FAFO 9. Alone Time 10. This is Fine 11. Might Be 12. Blew It 13. Looking 4 Luv 14. Never Again
Got Breakout, an awesome looking EP by Bad Idea in the mail the other day, and by awesome looking, I mean that. The album art, by Brian Walsby is super rad.
Musically, the tracks are four on the floor, straight ahead, hard rocking punk. The band hails from Minneapolis, MN, but their driving riffs remind me of Zeke. Clearly also influenced by Black Sabbath as evidenced by the Electric Funeral intro to Track 2, Breakout, and a smidge of Misfits-style riffery on Track 6. Night of the Hunter.
It’s good, loud, relatively fast-paced punk. 6 tracks in about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
I’ve been listening to “In The Badger’s Cave”, the new EP from Leipzig’s Mantarochen for a few days now, and honestly, I can’t get enough. I don’t know if it’s my particular frame of mind at the moment or my tastes shifting, but this is really hitting a sweet spot.
The sound is Post Punk / Cold Wave, blending genres handily. It’s as easy to draw Siouxsie comparisons, as it is Bauhaus and Berlin. There’s a decidedly 80s vibe to the entire thing and as much as I’m a sucker for nostalgia, this EP stands on its own in a new era.
Industrial noise and low-fi synth oscillations and arpeggios punctuate underwater guitar and pulsing bass. Lilting dreamy vocals flit in and out between the ever-so-slightly dissonant melody.
The new EP is out on May 31, 2024 on It’s Eleven Records. Please check it out.
While you wait for the EP, checkout this video for Grey:
Cheers!
Jerry Actually
Tracks: 1. Reflection 2. I’m Sand 3. Jaguar 4. Grey 5. Blue Heads 6. Still Black
Mantarochen: Diana – Synth, Vocals Sebi – Guitar Tom – Bass