Fugazi (EP)

{{Infobox album

| name = Fugazi

| type = ep

| artist = Fugazi

| cover = Fugazi - Fugazi cover.jpg

| alt =

| released = November 1988

| recorded = June 1988 at Inner Ear Studios

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = {{hlist|Post-hardcore|punk rock}}

| length = 23:06

| label = Dischord (030)

| producer = Ted Niceley, Fugazi

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Margin Walker

| next_year = 1989

}}

{{Album ratings

|rev1 = Allmusic

|rev1score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|title=allmusic ((( Fugazi > Review )))|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r7857|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=Allmusic|author=Kellman, Andy|accessdate=March 17, 2010}}

| rev2 = MusicHound Rock

| rev2score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite book|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|editor=Gary Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|edition=1st|year=1996|location=London|isbn=978-0-7876-1037-1|publisher=Visible Ink Press}}

| rev3 = OndaRock

| rev3score = 7.5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.ondarock.it/rockedintorni/fugazi.htm|title=Fugazi|author=Claudio Lancia|language=it|accessdate=May 3, 2022}}

| rev4 = Punknews.org

| rev4score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.punknews.org/review/15671/fugazi-fugazi-ep|title=Fugazi [EP] (1988)|author=TomTrauma|date=March 13, 2018}}

| rev5 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev5Score = 9/10{{cite book |chapter=Fugazi |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |edition=1st |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8}}

| rev6 = The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock

| rev6score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |year=1999 |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock |url=https://archive.org/details/virginencycloped0000unse_o3n4/page/176/mode/2up?q=fugazi |location=London |publisher=Virgin Books |page=176 |isbn=0-753-50257-7}}

}}

Fugazi, also known as the EP 7 Songs,[http://www.dischord.com/release/030/7-songs Dischord Records: Fugazi – 7 Songs] is the debut release by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. As with subsequent release Margin Walker, Guy Picciotto did not contribute guitar to this record; all guitar was performed by Ian MacKaye. It was originally recorded in June 1988 and released in November 1988 on vinyl and again in 1989 on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the following EP Margin Walker. The photo used for the album cover was taken on June 30, 1988 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Content

The release features "Waiting Room" which is often seen as the band's most well-known song, notorious for "the attention-getting drop into silence that occurs at the 22-second mark," as well as for its "relentless ska/reggae-inflected drive",{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/13-songs-r7861/review |title=13 Songs - Fugazi - Review |author=Kellman, Andy |work=Allmusic |accessdate=April 5, 2011}} and "Suggestion", a "Meters-meets-Ruts thrust."

Reception

The band's entry in the Trouser Press record guide, written by Ian McCaleb, Ira Robbins and Mike Fournier, calls the EP an "impressive debut" which "blends a classic DC-core sensibility with a mature, objective outlook and crisply produced mid-tempo songs that are dynamic, aggressive and accessible." They write that MacKaye and Picciotto "trade raw emotionalism for an introspective, almost poetic vision, using abstractions in strongly structured compositions like “Bulldog Front” and “Give Me the Cure,” a contemplation on death."{{Cite web |title=Fugazi |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/fugazi/ |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=Trouser Press |language=en-US}} Andy Kellman of AllMusic calls the EP "excellent".

Legacy

= Accolades =

In 2018, Pitchfork ranked the EP at #45 on their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s", with Evan Rytlewski writing that while the band "would go on to release hours of the most inventive post-hardcore ever, [...] they never recorded anything else so instantly gratifying."{{Cite web |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s - Page 8 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/?page=8 |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=Pitchfork | date=10 September 2018 |language=en}}

= Influence =

According to Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, the band would regularly listen to cassettes of the Fugazi EP and Nirvana's Bleach whilst on tour.{{Cite book |last=Prato |first=Greg |url=http://archive.org/details/grungeisdeadoral0000prat |title=Grunge is dead : the oral history of Seattle rock music |date=2009 |publisher=Toronto : ECW Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-55022-877-9}} Walter Shcreifels of Quicksand, in a feature for Revolver, ranked it the best post-hardcore album of all time and called it "ground zero for whatever's great about the genre."{{Cite web |date=2023-03-10 |title=QUICKSAND's WALTER SCHREIFELS picks 10 best POST-HARDCORE albums ever |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/quicksands-walter-schreifels-picks-10-best-post-hardcore-albums-ever |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=Revolver |language=en}} The Get Up Kids singer and guitarist Jim Suptic has described the first time he listened to the EP as a "a clouds-parting moment" and has stated that the album is responsible for his interest in hardcore and punk rock.{{Cite web |last=Ehrlich |first=Brenna |date=May 29, 2018 |title=The Get Up Kids: 5 Albums That Changed My Life |url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/get-up-kids-5-albums-that-changed-my-life/1-50906 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130143616/https://tidal.com/magazine/article/get-up-kids-5-albums-that-changed-my-life/1-50906 |archive-date=November 30, 2024 |access-date=November 30, 2024 |website=TIDAL |quote=The first song comes on, and, I swear to God, it was a clouds-parting moment. It never really happened since then. I can physically remember thinking, 'I didn’t know music could sound like this.' It completely changed my life. That’s how I got into hardcore music, punk rock, indie rock…}}

"Waiting Room" has been covered by a wide range of musicians since the EP's release. Tropical Fuck Storm covered "Burning" live.{{Cite web|url=http://xpressmag.com.au/tropical-fuck-storm-chevron-gardens-gets-8-5-10/|title=TROPICAL FUCK STORM @ Chevron Gardens gets 8.5/10|date=28 February 2018 }} Prong covered "Give Me the Cure".{{Cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/prong-songs-from-the-black-hole-1|title=Prong: Songs from the Black Hole|date=17 April 2015}} Pearl Jam covered "Suggestion" in various concerts in the early 1990s, usually as a tag to another song or an improvised jam.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8hKTzRbepEC&q=pearl+jam+fugazi+suggestion&pg=PA2|title=Rockin' Out of the Box: Gender Maneuvering in Alternative Hard Rock|location=Google Books|isbn=9780813530758|accessdate=24 April 2020|last1=Schippers|first1=Mimi|year=2002}} The track was also covered by Jonah Matranga{{Cite web|url=http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2017/06/08/fugazi-tribute-everybody-wants-somewhere/|title = Listen: 'Everybody Wants Somewhere,' a 21-track tribute to Fugazi by California indie acts|date = 8 June 2017}} and Taina Asili (in collaboration with the Nuyorican hip-hop/punk band Ricanstruction).{{cite web|last1=Plitt|first1=Amy|last2=Samarth|first2=Ro|title=The best feminist songs for a fierce playlist|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/best-feminist-songs-for-a-fierce-playlist|website=Time out|date=8 December 2021 }}