Potemkin City Limits

Potemkin City Limits is the fourth full-length album by the Canadian punk rock band Propagandhi, released on October 18, 2005 through G7 Welcoming Committee Records in Canada, and Fat Wreck Chords elsewhere. It is the second Propagandhi release on their own label and the last on Fat Wreck Chords.

Potemkin City Limits
Studio album by Propagandhi
Released	October 18, 2005
Length	41:25
Label	G7 Welcoming Committee/Fat Wreck Chords
Propagandhi chronology
Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes (2001) Potemkin City Limits (2005) Supporting Caste (2009)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Punknews.org	[2]
Stylus Magazine	C[3]

The title of the album is an allusion to Potemkin village, a political term referring to a false construct intended to hide an undesirable situation.

The opening track, "A Speculative Fiction", won the first annual ECHO Songwriting Prize from the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).^[4] The band pledged to use the $5000 prize to make donations to the Haiti Action Network and The Welcome Place, an organization in Winnipeg (which they'd previously done volunteer work for) which helps refugees start new lives in Manitoba.^[5]

Release

On August 30, 2005, Potemkin City Limits was announced for release in two months' time; alongside this, its artwork and track listing was posted online.^[6] Three days later, "America's Army™ (Die Jugend Marschiert)" was made available for download through AmaericasArm.ca, which was made as a parody of the America's Army video game series.^[7] Potemkin City Limits was released on October 18, 2005 through the G7 Welcoming Committee Records in Canada, and Fat Wreck Chords in the US.^[7] The artwork, a girl playing jump rope on a chalk-drawings covered street, is a piece of art called Children's Games from the anarchist artist Eric Drooker.^[8] In November and December 2005, they went on a cross-country US tour, dubbed the Crimean Tour; they were joined on all dates by the Greg MacPherson Band, while Toys That Kill and fellow Fat Wreck Chords act Western Addiction appeared on select shows.^[9] In April 2006, the album was released on vinyl.^[10] In October 2006, they embarked on a tour of Canada with I Hate Sally, Hiretsukan, GFK, and DeadPoets appearing on various shows.^[11] In December 2006, the band toured the UK with Hiretsukan and GFK.^[12] After returning to Canada, they went on a short Western tour with GFK.^[13]

Track listing

1. "A Speculative Fiction" – 4:14
2. "Fixed Frequencies" – 3:58
3. "Fedallah's Hearse" – 4:00
4. "Cut into the Earth" – 3:41
5. "Bringer of Greater Things" – 2:45
6. "America's Army™ (Die Jugend Marschiert)" – 4:42
7. "Rock for Sustainable Capitalism" – 4:12
8. "Impending Halfhead" – 1:14
9. "Life at Disconnect" – 3:23
10. "Name and Address Withheld" – 3:21
11. "Superbowl Patriot XXXVI (Enter the Mendicant)" – 0:36
12. "Iteration" – 5:19

Personnel

• Chris Hannah – guitar, vocals
• Jord Samolesky – drums
• Todd Kowalski – bass, vocals

References

1. AllMusic review
2. "Propagandhi - Potemkin City Limits". www.punknews.org. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
3. Strub, Whitney (January 4, 2006). "Propagandhi - Potemkin City Limits - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
4. "A Look Back at the Year in Manitoba Music". Manitoba Music News. 2006-12-18. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
5. "Propagandhi: acceptance speech? Sustained applause?". G7 Welcoming Committee Records. 2006-09-10. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
6. Paul, Aubin (August 30, 2005). "Track listing and artwork for upcoming Propagandhi full length". Punknews.org. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
7. White, Adam (September 2, 2005). "Download Propagandhi's 'Die Jugend Marschiert'". Punknews.org. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
8. "Children's Games". Eric Drooker. Archived from the original on 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
9. Paul, Aubin (October 10, 2005). "Dates for Propagandhi's 'Crimean' tour". Punknews.org. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
10. Paul, Aubin (April 5, 2006). "Propagandhi issues double-LP of 'Potemkin City Limits'". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
11. Paul, Aubin (September 8, 2006). "Propagandhi (Canada)". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
12. Paul, Aubin (August 31, 2006). "Propagandhi touring Eastern Canada and the UK". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
13. Reinecker, Meg (January 20, 2007). "Propagandhi (Western Canada)". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 8, 2022.

External links

• Official Lyrics
• album information at G7 Welcoming Committee Records
• "americasarmy.ca", homepage for the song "America's Army (Die Jugend Marschiert)"
• "Children's Games", cover by Eric Drooker