Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Imagine Life Without "Repeater", December 25, 2004
In a season when consumerism is running rampant with packed shopping malls, ridiculous traffic jams, and long lines everywhere, it's good to be reminded that our way of life is hollow. "Merchandise keeps us in line, common sense says it's by design. What could a businessman ever want more than to have us sucking in his store? We owe you nothing. You have no control. You are not what you own!"
Fugazi is nothing short of amazing on all levels. Their music was innovative and powerful, their lyrics were packed with intelligence and emotion, and the way they conducted their business was absolutely respectable and ethical. There will never be another band like them.
"Repeater" is known as Fugazi's defining moment. They still had the youthful energy that defined the hardcore punk scene, which band member Ian MacKaye embodied with his band Minor Threat, but more skill and broader talents.
Everything magically falls into place for them. The noisy elements make it so incredibly abrasive that they can slow down without losing any intensity. When they rock, it's so well constructed one could not possibly sit still.
When I first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana I thought they ripped-off the soft to loud dynamics in the songs "Blueprint" and "Eight Beats Off" (turns out that Nirvana was ripping-off the Pixies instead). Unlike Nirvana, Fugazi had more than one trick to fuel this true classic of the `90's. The whole record is constantly shifting in tone and pace without seeming like it follows some formula.
Maybe you had to be there to "get" this record, and if you were it's a part of your soul. It's tough to explain why this record sends chills up and down your spine, makes you feel like shouting out the lyrics, and thrashing around like a crazy person, but it does.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
why fugazi IS an important band, February 15, 2000
you said it all yourself, listen to the bands they influenced. fugazi are important precisely because they have influenced so many bands, be they indie or emo or punk or alternative or whatever you want to call it. it's easy to hear a lot of bands that sound like this today, but 10 years ago when this cd came out? i also strongly urge you to check out their later albums, especially "red medicine", fugazi just keep getting better with age.but why is this a good album? there are so many reasons. the songwriting never ceases to amaze me every time i listen to this album. the foundation of all the songs is the absolutely rock solid rhythm section. joe and brendan are one of the best rhythm sections of the past decade. from the opening track, turnover, they lay down a groove so tight it grabs you and won't let go. and the guitars...they're simply amazing! listen to the squealing line at the beginning of reapeater, or the way ian and guy interweave their lines in shut the door, both with each other and with the bassline. this album contains so many hidden facets and subtleties i find something new each time i listen to it...
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Ink washes out easier than blood." , September 7, 2005
Fugazi were one of the last true punk bands of the '90s, though to associate them with straightforward 3-chord punk rock would be somewhat misleading. Ian McKaye, Guy Picciotto (of Minor Threat, Embrace and Rites Of Spring respectively) and the rhythm team of Brendan Canty and Joe Lally played music that both abandoned the genre's limitations and celebrated its anti-corporate DYI ethos. While bands like Green Day and Offspring were watering punk down into commercially accessible territory, Fugazi stayed defiant while constantly refining their sound.
Repeater is perhaps the band's high-water mark, expanding and improving the template laid down by their debut 13 Songs. The dual-vocalist approach was finally crystallized (Guy's singing sounds more confident on this album), the lyrics became more assured and intelligent (not to say 13 Songs was lagging in this respect), and the songwriting is tighter. Lally and Canty's rhythm playing is top-notch, punching out dub-inspired grooves and angular beats with ablomb in a manner that recalls Gang Of Four at their best. The twin guitars crash, plink, and screech all over the dynamic stop/start/loud/quiet rhythms, establishing that MacKaye/Picciotto are not only great vocalists--they may have been one of alternative/punk's best guitar duos (up there with Lee and Thurston of Sonic Youth).
Turnover kicks off the album with a cautious report of feedback leading into an excellent Guy song (I love how he sings against the rhythm on the second verse). The title track throws a pounding jungle pulse over Ian's rants. Merchandise is the band's manifesto--it speaks for itself ("You are not what you own!"). Sieve-Fisted Find sports more Guy vocals over a RAD bassline. My favorite, Blueprint starts quietly with an instantly memorable repeated guitar figure before exploding into another Fugazi classic. Shut The Door closes the LP with Ian's haunting observation of domestic abuse. The 3 Songs EP adds an instrumental (Joe #1), the solid Song #1, and Break-In which is perhaps the most hardcore-sounding track on the album.
Fugazi are no more, which is too bad but fortunately they have left a discography that (along with Helmet) laid the foundation for post-hardcore. Repeater is punk with heart, balls, and a brain. Get it.
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