FUGAZI REVIEWS:
13 Songs (1989)
Album Score: 13
Fugazi, at least in 13 Songs, is a band that I have trouble trying to categorize. That probably shows me how useless it is to try to categorize bands in the first place, but I might try anyway just so you have an idea of what I'm listening to. They were certainly a product of the evolving underground scene where the bands were moving away from the horribly-fast-and-ugly hardcore-punk scene and starting to shift into something slower, moodier, and artsier.
Fugazi were started by Ian MacKaye, former member of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat. He said he was aiming to create “The Stooges but with reggae,” but I can only pretend I understand what he meant by that. If you talk to their diehard fans, they'll say that they started the whole guitar-rock alternative scene in the '90s, and they possibly even had a profound influence in the burgeoning grunge scene. This isn't a grunge album, but it doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to see where they're getting that.
13 Songs is actually a compilation of the band's first two EPs, but for the sake of simplicity, I want to call this their first album. It opens with an explosive song, “Waiting Room,” which features a heavy mid-tempo bass groove and some remarkably passionate scream-singing vocals. (Don't be put off about the “scream-singing.” He's not doing it just to sound ugly or loud, but to be dramatic.) They even undergo an unruly 'call and response' style interaction with the back-up singers, which makes it even more entertaining.
Yes, it seems that Fugazi were a band that actually seemed to be concerned with making their music entertaining. I know, that shouldn't be considered unusual goal for most bands, but after listening to some art-rock/post-punk bands from that decade, some of them seemed to have other goals in mind! Some of these songs have, I'm convinced, some of the greatest bass-lines in history. “And the Same” is completely made by that bass and drum groove; I could listen to that forever. But the good singing and the fuzzy fireworks provided by the electric guitarist are just bonuses!
“Burning” not only has a great and elegantly simple bass line, but those lead guitars play these amazing, siren-esque textures that literally feels like it's burning. That's definitely an art-rock song for the ages. “Bad Mouth” is just a great pop song; the guitar textures are bubbly and the vocal melody is catchy as hell. “Margin Walker” is another one of my favorites, and its overly sloppy guitar texture is about the only thing in here that strongly rings of grunge to me.
I didn't get to talk about all the songs I liked on this album, because I liked all of them. Maybe some of them, such as “Bulldog Front” and “Promises” didn't seem quite as special as the songs that surrounded it, but I still really enjoyed listening to those as well. Without a doubt, this is one album that you can buy and expect it to be solid throughout.
Despite this being justly categorized as “underground punk music,” I personally didn't find this difficult to like in the slightest bit, and remember that I'm not always one to scout out these sorts of records on my own free will. 13 Songs is one of those rare albums that I took one listen to and was pretty much hooked on it. They have a knack for catchy melodies, their songs seem passionate and emotional, and (perhaps most importantly) I frequently get a slight jolt of electricity running down my spine as I listen to it. If you're at all inclined to exploring the '80s and '90s underground scene, this is definitely something to check out.
Read the track reviews:
13 Songs
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