Fugazi
The Argument
Dischord

It has been 15 years since Fugazi came into existence, though co-founder Ian MacKaye initially made a name for himself in the seminal DC hardcore band Minor Threat. Being around in the punk rock scene for this long surely qualifies the four members of Fugazi as elder statesmen of punk. Not only has the group outlast most of its contemporaries, it did so without leaving the independent Dischord label, making a video for MTV or compromising its music or politics.

This is all well-known stuff, but it deserves to be repeated if only because it deserves respect and admiration. So what about the new album? Is it more mature? Is it more accessible? Does the group still rock out? Does Guy play his clarinet again? In short: It kicks ass, yes, sort of, yes and no.

In sound, The Argument is very reminiscent of Fugazi's last album, the underrated End Hits, but tighter and more focused. MacKaye's four songs — "Cashout," "Epic Problem," "Ex-Spectator" and "Argument" — are, as anyone familiar with the group might expect, the most anthemic songs on the album. The first decries gentrification, a topic tackled, one might suspect, appropriate to the band's hometown of Bethesda, Md. "Epic Problem" is a clever number that seems to portray someone in deep denial. Of "Ex-Spectator," a highlight in an album full of highlights, MacKaye has said, "This is ... a song about being involved with something and not just watching all the time because if you only watch, you're not actually doing anything." Finally, the album's namesake is a thoughtful piece about US-sponsored bombings of foreign countries, made increasingly relevant by recent events in Afghanistan. It is best encapsulated by the line:

It's all about strikes now,
so here's what's striking me —
That some punk could argue some moral ABC's
when people are catching what bombers release.

Picciotto's five contributions are more varied, but a good deal more melodic and even in some cases more danceable than his previous work. "Full Disclosure" and "Life and Limb" even sport (gasp!) female backup singers. This doesn't stop Picciotto from contributing the most discordant track on the album in "Oh," a song about the dot-com bust that doesn't stop its feedback attack until the end when MacKaye repeats the refrain "Thank you sir, may I have another." Somewhere in the middle is "NightShop," which rivals "Ex-Spectator" in its epic tendencies. This starts out with a great beat driven along by "the fifth Fugazi" Jerry Busher on the tambourine for the first 2 minutes, then gets noisy for a little bit, gets dancey again with an acoustic guitar before closing with some killer riffing.

Not to be overlooked is bassist Joe Lally's sole contribution, "The Kill," a slick track that echoes "Recap Modotti," his song from End Hits. Lally seemingly has created his own subgenre of gothic cowboy punk with these tracks. His subdued vocals are not as distintive as MacKaye's or Picciotto's, but they match the song's creepy atmosphere.

Fugazi has been making an effort to broaden its sonic horizions ever since its first few EPs. For this release the group has reined in some of its more indulgent tendencies (cf. the aforementioned clarinet), but comes out sounding every bit as adventurous and every bit as capable of rocking out with a vengeance. Still, as even as the album is in quality, there is no single track that conveys the pure punk rock energy of such previous hits as "Waiting Room," "Repeater" or "Smallpox Champion." It's a minor quibble, but one suspects these guys have another hardcore anthem for the youth in them just dying to get out.

— Nicholas Coleman (ncoleman@wesleyan.edu)