Fugazi (War Punk)

Fugazi. See those killer mugs? This is Fugazi, a War Punk band formed in Washington in 1987. An acronym for the Vietnam War’s “Fucked Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In“, Fugazi is now recognized as a true legendary band, one of the instigators of the Washington punk movement, a pioneer of anti-war. Oh, but that’s not all. The band was also anti-music industry, anti-business and anti-anti. Everything except anti-really-heavy-music. Fans of Sonic Youth, the Ramones, Wire and other nineties punk bands, this article is yours.

Only six studio albums make up Fugazi’s discography, from Repeater (1990) to The Argument (2001). But today’s article is about 13 Songs, a compilation of the band’s first two EPs (Fugazi and Margin Walker) released in 1989. We are about to explore the darkest depths of hardcore music. Few bands are indeed capable of giving off such energy. Fugazi stood out above all for its ability to dig up every last drop of its listener’s adrenaline. This band transcended. And transcends. For that reason, the band’s concerts were always very unifying, open to all, at an affordable price, for music that has always won audiences over unanimously (don’t miss this gif).Every listen to 13 Songs plunges me right into those dark, warlike atmospheres of the ’90s, of those forgotten conflicts. Fugazi symbolizes that generation of artists who committed to a peace and love movement while setting aside fighting with flowers, taking guitars in hand to fire sonic missiles into their listeners’ ears. Fugazi represents that ultimate paradox of a band that sought to galvanize the listener in order to make him face the horror of the military.

The album opens on the foundation of “Waiting Room“, an already very powerful song, simple and devastating. And then we head to “Bulldog Front“: more than a song, an anthem. “You want to figure it outttt“. In my view one of the best songs in the band’s history, and probably in Punk’s. If “Bulldog Front” does nothing for you, move along. “Bad Mouth“, third on the list, is a more classic War Punk song. A good lo-fi sound, fuzz, Fugazi does the job. “Burning” is in the same vein. A song to see live, definitely. You find what would make Fugazi successful on “Give Me The Cure“. A dark, unsettling song, and above all, absolutely undecided. The guitar will explode, that is a certainty. Yes, but when? Once again, this song represents Fugazi’s most brilliant hours.

Then comes “Suggestion“. And there, everything stops. Of the same caliber as the best Country Teasers songs, this track is one of the best punk songs in History. What more to add? Nothing better to blow up a party, go and dig up a few spirits or die on your couch. “Suggestion” is one of those tracks that win you over immediately. We are in Richard Hell’s Blank Generation, and you can feel it. “Glue Man“, anti-girly, has enough to give the most sensitive souls a rash. Ian Svenonious is never far away, which should come as no surprise. He in fact wrote the introductory remarks to the very fine The Fugazi Photographs of Glen E. Friedman. We tackle the last third of 13 Songs with “Margin Walker“. The band continues with the anti-war anthem on “And The Same“, a more experimental track than usual. The very Nirvana “Burning Too” is a nice little teaser for “Lockdown“, one of the darkest songs on the opus. On very uncertain “Promises“, Fugazi comes full circle on an opus that leaves its mark on the listener.I implore you not to stop at listening to 13 Songs. It is probably Fugazi’s most emblematic album, but the band’s other LPs deserve the devotion/sacrifice of a few neurons. To be convinced, you only need to watch the live performance of “Turnover“, organized in 1991 to protest against the Gulf War. Fugazi is Still in Rock’s darkest hours, Gang of Four style (article). A band that will have left one hell of a mark behind it.

(video with Amy Pickering as guest, member of the band Fire Party)

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