PROPAGANDHI
AT PEACE
This is the 8th Album for this politically charged foursome from Canada and one of Epitaph's longest tenured bands.
Artist: Propagandhi
Release date: May 2nd, 2025
Genre: Punk, Hardcore
Length: 48 Minutes, 13 Tracks
I always looked at Propagandhi as the Taylor Negron of the '90s and '00s scene. You know them, you've heard them, and you have ever been to a punk rock festival, most notably the Vans' Warped Tour, you have seen them live. A lot of that aminity has to do with the fact that they didn't do much album producing for a while, just stayed busy touring and touring. The other factor is that the music they produced sounded like this band or that band, the ones that are known, and a lot of their stuff is mistaken for a different '90s punk band. That's not their fault, and it's not to say they haven't been doing good music. In fact, of all those bands they were unfortunately lumped in with, they didn't stay the course; they grew, they evolved, and At Peace is an incredible example of that.
This, I think, turned for them in 2015. They brought on Sulynn Hago, a punk rock guitarist who really made it big with his first band Feral Babies and while his influence is felt on their last effort 2015's Victory Lap it is this album in which he is full fledged contributor and I think where he is at a point in his career that meshed perfectly to where Chris, Jord, and Todd were showing signs of going toward. Sometimes it just is about timing, and with this latest effort, it shows in infinite amounts.
There is a nice flow here that unveils the words of contemporaries who have seen a lot of shit and experienced more then they care to admit, even though there is little held back in this one. Obviously, that has been there for them. They were always very astute, but now you factor in a more sonically pleasing aspect to that, and you have an amazing insight coupled with a distinct sound that they claim is only theirs now.
This, I think, turned for them in 2015. They brought on Sulynn Hago, a punk rock guitarist who really made it big with his first band Feral Babies and while his influence is felt on their last effort 2015's Victory Lap it is this album in which he is full fledged contributor and I think where he is at a point in his career that meshed perfectly to where Chris, Jord, and Todd were showing signs of going toward. Sometimes it just is about timing, and with this latest effort, it shows in infinite amounts.
There is a nice flow here that unveils the words of contemporaries who have seen a lot of shit and experienced more then they care to admit, even though there is little held back in this one. Obviously, that has been there for them. They were always very astute, but now you factor in a more sonically pleasing aspect to that, and you have an amazing insight coupled with a distinct sound that they claim is only theirs now.
1. Guiding Lights - Nothing like a nice Sonic Youth like chord bend and hollow percussion slap to tell you we are about sonically rip your eardrums off and then call out to the atrocity of not trying to give up while waiting to die. This steeple chase of chord progressions coupled with this incredible Fugazi hardcore-ish melody just pounds you into submission when you hear the lyrics profoundly pound into you like a heartbeat.
Final cleansing, ecstatic purge
Throw their children on the pyre
Cafe's bustling, the streets alive
Embracing terror, the spinning fire
The choice of a lifetime
We wait
Our guiding lights are here, vile and miserable
The time to draw the line
Was long before our time
This is the lyrical beauty of what Propagandhi is doing with most of this album. It is keeping it simple, yet not shying away from the complex issues that it speaks of. This is, for practicality's sake, an easy interpretation, but a much more thought-provoking ideal when you sit with it. The music plays background on this one but it also is so punchy and strong, you are swaying, headbanging, and bopping to its rhythmic chants.
2. At Peace - A much more conventional early establishing riff into the lyrical content softens the intake for a moment. We get a good sense of Chris Hannah's range and how high an octave he can bellow, pretty fucking high. Maybe more impressive is how he is in immense control here. As the pace picks up, it really has a powerful way of flowing into the music. We also get the other side of Propagandhi, the more playful punk rock side wherein there is some observation of civil disobedience and the call out of it. Lends to some more of the comical lyrics that really stretches into the next song.
3. Cat Guy - There is an amazing riff here that again allows Chris to playfully raise his voice to harmonize within it and give it the illusion of raising an octave or changing the note, when its really just Chris staying within himself. There is a nice tempo change mid-track that gives it an almost jam session feel. Chris never slows down, but it works. This song will catch you off guard, lyrically and sonically, it is the most commercial of the 13, but it is also the most recognizable as a Propagandhi song that would have been on any of their previous 7 albums, and it works within their newly found polish and discipline. Maybe even better than it should.
4. No Longer Young - This continues the growth spurt as it starts fast and furious, only to settle into this nice melodic 90s post punk pocket. This song is especially highlighting what makes Propagandhi so fascinating and somewhat unique over the past couple of albums. There is this nice follow-along sonic boom that seemingly changes tempo with the emotion it is trying to draw from you. From the title, you gather what this one is about, but adding in little snippets like "The seasons are changing and times are cold" really sells the story being told here. That's some next-level sophistication that truly incredible punk rock gives you.
5. Rented P. A. - This is the one song I feel is kind of what I felt about Victory Lap, the previous album, it wants to show its maturity and it wants to show its polish and growth, and then it kind of tries to forcefeed a messy song or two into the rotation. On its own, okay, you might actually mistake it for an earlier Propagandhi track and go, okay, this is a deep cut off the Wreck Chord recording days, where you feel and see Fat Mike's fingerprints all over their sound. In the progression of listening to the album from start to finish, it feels misplaced and a little like taking a step backward from what was before it. I don't dislike it, but it is skippable in the course of listening to the whole album. I even think the songwriting is not up to par, like it is profoundly throughout the album before and after this song on the album.
6. Stargazing - Then you get this amazing, amazing piece of art that falls somewhere between The Cult and Sisters of Mercy with its beat and rhythms. It is a fist-pounding, danceable track that pushes every envelope from musically to lyrically. Yet again, the upbeat tempo that accompanies lyrics like " And you can't spend your days just struggling, Trying to figure out how to fit in" feels like emotion instead of singing, and it makes this my favorite track on the album. Even though it is the softest one they may have ever done, it still fits the mold of what they are doing here and returns them to the maturity they have been seeking and displaying through this album.
7. God of Avarice - You get the sense that the idea of this as an album is to blend one song into the next, at least tempo-wise, and most of the time it is working. Here, however, the start of this feels like an exhale of Stargazing instead of a new inhale. Once Sulynn flairs his arms into the ripping chords, it picks up a little. There is actually a cool AC/DC-like riff that peppers into the next verses. The messaging in this song is nicely wound into a spitball of reality, and I love the 3rd verse here."To be saved by a final prayer. Leaving all your sins behind. Approaching the needle's eye. And dropping into endless fire." Amazing and profound to say the least.
8. Prismatic Spray (The Tinder Date) - Again, showing a little humor has never been a problem for this band, but to do it under the guise of a Disney ride that sounds like a pure metal song. I mean, the jokes are endless here. If you close your eyes, you almost hear Volbeat, almost, minus the long, drawn-out hit and hold of a high note. I like this more subtle Propagandhi but only in doses, which thankfully is what we get here. I will say no other song here mad eme laugh harder than this one.
9. Benito's Early Work - Continuing the slowed down tempo riffs. This one has more sonic pleasing guardrail to it, especially the chorus or bridge-like sort of chorus. Then it starts to rage a bit toward the end and picks up a powerful last minute or so here. There is also a kind of Tool-esque tomfoolery that echoes in the background.
10. Vampires Are Real - Which again that Tool-esque bleeds into the intro riffs of this one. We get the first true taste of Todd's bass licks in prominence. Jord is especially strong on this track with the kick drum. In fact, honestly, musicianship-wise, with a nice solo that rips in the background has the first real song here that I think has a full complement for everyone in the band. A kind featurette for their music prowess. This also starts the supernatural/sci-fi portion of the songwriting.
10. Vampires Are Real - Which again that Tool-esque bleeds into the intro riffs of this one. We get the first true taste of Todd's bass licks in prominence. Jord is especially strong on this track with the kick drum. In fact, honestly, musicianship-wise, with a nice solo that rips in the background has the first real song here that I think has a full complement for everyone in the band. A kind featurette for their music prowess. This also starts the supernatural/sci-fi portion of the songwriting.
11. Fire Season - This continues the sci-fi into real-life horror conviction. This song has a slowed-down beginning that really again puts the band into a nice opportunity when it speeds up to flutter the guitar work in behind the lyrical content and push the pacing into a nice punk element that makes it more of a Propagandhi of the yesteryear feel. Then it hits the brakes for a moment in the middle to show how in control these great musicians are, and it goes for a tad too long before the solo rips in and finishes the song strong.
12. Day By Day - There is a cool instrumental feeling, again like a Fugazi-esque wave, at the beginning that rips into a nice tempo cleansing that is becoming a unique Propagandhi signature, especially in this and the last album. There is a cool story within the strong shifts here that works itself into a frenzied blend of the beginning and the tempo established after that. I love the blending of those two elements; it works with a catchy feel that only endears you to go back and listen to this one over again. "Can't go wrong with the praising of tyrants, follow along, the story's in the works. You thought you'd be watching for the side." Love that, irony and sarcasm are strong with this one, but there is a nice profoundness to the chorus here that acknowledges the cynicism, and I love that there are lyrical shifts as much as there are musical shifts.
13. Something Needs To Die But Maybe Its Not You - Great title and a nice opening that calls back to the beginning of this album. Again, the kind of doom and gloom being bandied about here, and the music kind of setting the mood, is so spot on you are sitting within it and it hits harder that way. This is the overarching sentiment that just litters the mature elements so amazingly within 4 minutes. Excellent way to end this experience.
There's a lot that will permeate my musical rotations here and already has, but this album relies a lot on its subtle heaviness rather than its more conventional punk rock or metal tempos. Which is to say, again, it shows a sense of maturity and gives you something from the 48-minute experience. I like how Propagandhi is finding themselves and yet still being playful both musically and lyrically. It is refreshing without being pretentious or straying too far from its core principles.
YOU CAN GET THIS ALBUM OVER ON BANDCAMP HERE
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