FUGAZI:
The Argument:: CD
I got the feeling with Fugazi’s last two full length studio albums (Red Medicine and End Hits) that they were trying to push songs into new directions, but they weren’t quite getting where they wanted to go with the songs. While they were both good albums, Red Medicine brought in jazz undertones that lost me and End Hits had arty moments that lulled me. Now, with The Argument, Fugazi has finally gotten where they seem to have been trying to go all along. Unlike jazz undertones that seek to destroy the structure of a song, The Argument builds a new structure to songs. They create and diffuse tension and travel all over the place, but always make it back to the underlying rhythm. And the power and anger balance out the art. All of the elements that make Fugazi a great band are in this album, but they finally seem to have come to such a firm understanding of who they are as a band that they can go beyond that. The Argument is an amazing album. Some of  the songs stand out on their own. “Epic Problem” is my favorite on the album and parts of it bring me back to Margin Walker. “Full Disclosure” blows me away in new ways. But what’s most impressive about The Argument is how it works as a whole. How all of the songs are completely different from one another, yet ebb and flow with perfect fluidity. It’s a tough album to review because it’s so different from anything else I’ve listened to that I can’t rely on buzz words, but, as a reviewer, that’s exactly what I love. -Sean
–Sean Carswell (Dischord)