"Cashout" - This is a Red Hot Chili Peppers sound-a-like. This song is very slow and almost melancholy, until rather significant hardcore moments occur in the middle of the song. Grade: 7.5 out of 10
"Full Disclosure" - An indie jam song right here. Screaming is prominent, but a lighter "woooooo" is heard in the background. Grade: 8.0 out of 10
"Epic Problem" - This is hardcore, yet almost experimental. The guitar is nice, but the screaming is a bit annoying at this point. Grade: 6.5 out of 10
"Life and Limb" - I don't know where I am getting this comparison -- but this song reminds me of Matchbox Romance's "Monsters" a little bit. That isn't too bad of a thing, either. Grade: 7.0 out of 10
"The Kill" - One of the finer tracks on the album. Very slow, almost Radiohead-like. Grade: 8.5 out of 10
"Strangelight" - Art rock meets hardcore. The combination is quite nice. Grade: 8.0 out of 10
"Oh" - I frankly don't know where this song came from. It is more "popular" sounding than any of the previous tracks and reminds me of really good Fall Out Boy. But wait, that can't be possible! Grade: 7.0 out of 10
"Ex-Spectator" - Heavy guitars must mean hard rock right? When you have a screaming Ian Mackaye that isn't quite the case. Mackaye yells -- quite loudly -- and his vocals almost take away from the non-vocal parts of the song. Grade: 7.5 out of 10
"Nightshop" - One of the best intros on the album. This song overall has quite a bit of post-punk influence (which of course is my favorite genre of rock). Grade: 9.0 out of 10
"Argument" - Chill. Just want to sit around and listen to a song? Choose this one. Did Thom Yorke draw influence from this song (and album) for Radiohead's "In Rainbows"? I think, yes. Grade: 9.0 out of 10
Final Rating: 7.8 out of 10 - Very solid. No "Repeater" or "Waiting Room" caliber songs are on this album, but there are still a bunch of gems.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
CD Review: "The Argument" by Fugazi
Labels:
CD Review,
Glen Maganzini,
music
2 comments:
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Yeah its a fantastic album, but its not hardcore. I don't think Mackaye screams too much especially on "Epic Problem." In fact, you didn't mention the softer part of that track, at the very end, that has to be one of my favorite fugazi moments in their entire catalog. It comes out of nowhere! Oh and "Nightshop" is not an intro, it is one of the last songs on the album, an intro is the first song on an album. Good observations! I'll be doing a band spotlight on them soon. Check it out!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris.
ReplyDeleteBy Intro, I mean the first 30 seconds or so of the song.