Review: Fugazi – Red Medicine

I hate trying to decide on Fugazi’s genre. It sounds silly, but if I could label them I feel I could enjoy them a whole lot more than I really do. I have them tagged as hardcore-punk, although I really don’t think that is what they are at all, despite obviously having quite a bit of that thrown into the equation. Maybe post-punk would be more applicable? I don’t know a lot about Fuzgazi (having only listened to 13 Songs previously), though seemingly this record is their hardest to define genre-wise, so for the purpose of reviewing, I guess I’m going to have to leave my genre-labelling obsession behind.

It is a good record. Slightly more on the noisy side than I’d prefer, but it keeps me entranced. I’m not sure how this entrancement works, to be honest, because I honestly don’t find the music to be anything exceptional…but there’s just something about it…something that keeps me craving more, something that makes me keep turning the volume up and up and up until it will go up no more. It’s very similar to how I feel about Minutemen’s Double Nickles on the Dime. It’s strange, and I really can’t define what I’m enjoying as I listen to it…but I’m enjoying it regardless. Maybe it IS the noisiness? Or maybe it’s the very distinguishable bass? Maybe even the vocals? Who knows! That’s not important. What’s important is that although I’m not exactly feeling ecstasy while listening to it, I am feeling something…something good