Repeater
Fugazi
1990
Album Summary
Repeater is the full-length debut studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was released on April 19, 1990, as Repeater on LP, and in May 1990 on CD bundled with the 3 Songs EP as Repeater + 3 Songs. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, and produced and engineered by Don Zientara and Ted Niceley. Repeater is often regarded as a definitive album for the band and a landmark of rock music. It has been described as an "angrier American update of Gang of Four's Solid Gold." It has also been noted for its complex interplay of guitar and rhythm section. It is included in the book 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.
Wikipediai made a mistake. i went and looked at some of the other reviews before i started writing my own. my original review probably wouldn't have said much, because it's impossible for me to be objective about this album. but you know what, i was there for this - i saw it happen first-hand, and having read a bunch of people complaining that they sound like bands that came along after they did...kinda feels like i owe it to some random someone to put this out there. this was one of many projects ian was involved with, and is a direct descendent of minor threat. ian invented straightedge. he refused to platy shows that cost more than $5 to get into, because he wanted everyone to be able to go to shows. (i have a theory about how this ended up working out as a win for venues. knowing they were gonna get slaughtered at the door, they loaded the bill as much as they could, with the idea of making back their losses on future shows with opening acts, whose names were now much better-known.) anyway, ian was a big deal, is what i'm saying - though he was not (and probably still isn't) super comfortable with the idea of being a big deal. fugazi broke a bunch of rules musically, but they followed a bunch of others. they went into all kinds of improv live (as noted, i was there - at the channel in boston with 1200 other people sweating in leather and stomping in boots and reveling in the heat), and hell, the drummer (brendan canty) had a bell - like, kind of a big one - that he'd use in place of a cymbal sometimes. but at the same time, they were a reflection of their time, so a lot of the lyrics are angry screaming. sorry, that's just how it was. i like it, but i'm a product of that time, too. songs can feel a little repetitive - but that really really works when you're on your skateboard across town for 45 minutes to get to your girlfriend's house. and it works when you're in the pit and just swimming in the sea of humanity that was one of their shows. in short, this isn't an album that was meant to be on in the background while you write code - it's for going out and doing something in the world with. hit the ramp, hit the parking lot behind the grocery store and work on your power slides, climb a rock...whatever - just do a physical thing, and this album will feel more at home in your ears. if i'm wrong, i'll buy you a coke.
This album sits in the perfect place that is post-hardcore, but predates grunge making it that link that so many people unfortunately miss. Dirty, messy, noisy, lots of fun and perfectly imperfect. Love it!
Massive boners all round for this one I'm sure. Speaking of massive boners, I responded to one of those 'spam' emails regarding Viagra last month and the company kindly sent me over 6,000 little blue pills. Needless to say I've had an unbelievably painful dick for 26 days now. I'm in agony. Please help me.
I don't feel like there is much left to be said about this album that already hasn't been said. Its an absolute classic and a wonderful entry into the world of Post-Hardcore. When i say Post-Hardcore I mean the amazing genre that started in the 80's and ran throughout the early 90's. I am absolutely NOT talking about those horrendus screamo bands that were popular in the late 2000's and early 2010's that also received the table Post-Hardcore for some reason or the other. This album is a fantastic listen, engaging from front to back, and you pick up new themes and lyrics every time you listen to it that totally change my perspective of each song. One of my all time favorites.
Ian MacKaye, the punk GOAT. This album was so far ahead of its time but that's no surprise, MacKaye has always been ahead of the game. He was wearing the 21st century hipster staple tiny little woolen hat/skull cap thing in the 1980s. What a fella.
There are very few bands that I have allegiance to, but the five dollar shows, DIY ethos, messages of equality, politically minded rage against capitalism, an outlet for anger and angst are all things that resonated when I was 14. Fugazi (and Ian MacKaye in particular) helped shape my view of the world during high school and beyond. I’ve got nothing but love for this one.
Sorry I was late on the Marvin Gaye record, but after it made me pregnant the labor was complicated. Anyway…I think this is my favorite Fugazi record. When I was like 14 or something my family went to the beach and I spent a large chunk of the week shut in my room playing along to this cassette on my guitar. It was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I watched the Instrument doc last week on Amazon Prime. Listened to Coriky the other day. What I’m basically saying is that all the above is how I determine if a record gets five stars or not.
Love Fugazi! Ian McKay is brilliant, and probably a direct influence on most of the music I loved in middle and high school. Didn’t discover Fugazi until my mid twenties, but all the songs still take me back to being a teenage somehow.
Angry Gen X white guy yelling. In 1990 this is too late to be authentic punk I guess? After wikipedia-ing it this is "post-hardcore." Repeater sounds like pissed off Modest Mouse. I'm sure this was an influence on them. Not as into the more (what I consider) punk tracks like Greed... I like the instrumental tracks. The songs are a little repetitive as I work through it. Strong start that kind of devolves into fodder for angry suburban white kids. Probably would not listen to any of this again.
I don’t really like the vocals and although I see how this album could have been influential, I didn’t enjoy much of it. The almost yelled vocals that weren’t in tune were clearly on purpose and it’s hard to say that they are had but they did nothing for me personally. The instrumentals are pretty good but not good enough to make me want to listen to most of the instrumental songs again. Favorite songs: Styrofoam, Song 1, Joe 1 Least favorite song: Merchandise Light 5/10
not the best fugazi album, but infinitely better than most of the shit this list churns out.
Full of grooves and energy. Love the biting tone and just how infectious every track is on this record - its got that punk attitude and lyrical content, but it's paired with riffs and a musicality beyond a lot of the genre. Granted this is post-hardcore, which has plenty of musically flashy artists, but the rawness on here is seldom kept with such distinct guitar playing and focus on grooves
Not for me. Obviously amazing musicians but this could benefit from some melody and clarity. Did not really enjoy
Enjoyed the music. Not such much the vocals. Good pre-grunge stuff though. I knew who this group was, but had never listened to much Fugazi before.
Much like The Minutemen, I appreciate Fugazi more in principle/theory than in practice. Their ethos and philosophy are really admirable. While I can also appreciate their influence on alternative rock bands to follow, I'm not moved by their music in the same way I am by Hüsker Dü and others. The snarling vocals are a little too grating for me. It probably belongs on this list, but I doubt I'll revisit it. Rating: 2.5/5 Favourite songs: Merchandise
Fugazi is one of those post-hardcore groups renowned for "breaking the rules", not just musically, just preaching anti-violence at their shows and beyond. This record is no-doubt super influential on bands growing up listening to their music, but I've never quite been able to connect the dots to my own musical experience. While I appreciated the opportunity to sit down and listen through Repeater for the first time, I'm afraid I'll never be able to experience it in the right setting and at the right age. 2.5/5 Fav tracks: Styrofoam and Merchandise.
I was disturbed to discover that there's actually a genre called "post-hardcore", yet pleased I had an album I could dismiss quickly and get on with my life. BUT then, guitar riff in the opening track blew me away and I read that there would be piano somewhere too (song 13 actually). Throughout, the guitar work is original, very riff-based - kind of Gang of 4 meets 80s metal, and they give the bassist and drummer room to play around a bit. The instrumentation deserves high marks, as do the lyrics, but the singing style is not for me. I can tolerate the 80s metal style but I'm not a fan of the pre-post-hardcore shouting.
Cool, got this after just rating Minor Threat so it's gonna be neat to hear the progression for Ian MacKaye. Not sure I love Guy Picciotto's vocal styles, I think I prefer Ian's. The track Repeater definitely could be the opener for me. That squealing guitar is neat, definitely post-park with the interplay between abrasive and clean guitar. In general though... not a huge style of this rock sound.
Musically I enjoy this album, vocally not so much. The bass work is amazing on this album and the way it fits in the groove with the drums is magical. And the guitar work is fairly intricate and fun for a garage/hardcore band. It just is not a repeat listen album for me. Based off the vocals alone I would give it a 2, but the music and legacy of the album inclines me to bump it to a 3. I was pleasantly surprised with the music.
A pretty interesting and complex album. I enjoyed listening to it a few times but I don’t think I’ll ever seek it out. The instrumentals are solid and rocks pretty nicely. The lyrics and singer are what I find difficult to relisten to this. It’s definitely not bad but not good enough for me to really enjoy. 5.5/10
I think even if I heard this is in 1990, I still would have found it extremely tiring. Had a drunk pub karaoke rock vibe. Absolutely could not wait for it to end. ‘Joe 1’ is the only ok track due to it being instrumental.
90’s punk music that started to all blend together after a while. It was hard to distinguish between tracks and I unfortunately found myself waiting for it to end midway through.
Que buenos eran Fugazi. Me encanta el ritmo del disco, siguen sonando bestiales
Punk rock primitivo que parece grabado ayer, hardcore marginal. La voz los hace auténticos, las guitarras suenan melódicas y el bajo clava lo que falta para hacer del disco una joyita ruidosa y precisa. Nunca les hice mucho caso y acaban de abofetearme en la cara por idiota. Grandes.
This isn’t even my favorite Fugazi album, but this album goes hard as fuck. What a one of a kind band.
Amazing how some people hear a song like "Shut The Door" and think it's nothing more than just punk. Even more amazing is the fact that this isn't even Fugazi's best album
Amazing. This album captures the punk spirit and the appeal of Fugazi beautifully. Not a single miss in the tracklist either makes the album a great listen. Highly recommended.
5! I love love Fugazi. My first concert, made my own shirts. Ian McKaye was a big influence.
Love Fugazi! One of the greatest bands of all time. This is an absolute classic. Not necessarily my favorite Fugazi record but all their records are great. Hard to think of another band with such a consistently strong catalog. Got to meet Ian once after an Evens show (another great band, "Get Evens" is a great record) - was a nice guy too.
To just Stop it up Pass it on Shove it to shelf it To lead it on and I’m only I’m only sleeping (Turnover)
FIVE STARS A personal favorite of mine. As is usually the case with those five-stars albums, I won't write a full-blown review about this particular record, because others have already written wonderful stuff about it and there's not much I can add that I feel could be relevant and interesting. It's just a gem. Go and listen to it a.s.a.p. [Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 991 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 3 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 4 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (as I think many others are more important): 3]
Somehow this album has missed large play by me. I had a copy in college, but lost it at some point and this is the first time I've heard it in years. Which is a shame, it's an amazing album that I should listen to a lot more. 13 Songs is the album I know the most, but this one might be a better album overall.
Always one of my favorite albums, and I was pretty happy to see this on my list this morning.
This was my first Fugazi listen, and it has been on rotation to some degree ever since. It set me on the path to full-blown fandom. I like Repeater because it really defined the band's sound and came before the lyrics progressively became too obtuse, so it retained some of that punk origin. Song #1, the title track, and Merchandise are my faves.
It reminds me of stuff I listened to in the early 00's that must have been influenced by this (bands like Fuel), but this is better. Can also hear how a band like say, Tool, might have heard this and been influenced. I really feel like they nailed down a sound that would be hard to improve upon by subsequent bands that might be using it as a precedent. Maybe this is a 4-star album for me, but as I'm revisiting it I'm liking it better, so I'll bump it up to a 5 just for fun.
Never herd of this band… The album opens with turnover and my god I love how this song builds up it’s just epic. The chorus is really tense sounding making a nearly dramatic feel. Love this shit already! It flows perfectly into the album’s title track it’s a great display of the drum and bass skills of these artists the singing is a bit too fuzzy for me but it works really well when it goes spoken word. Then it kicks off the instrumental song Brendan 1 and yeah it’s awesome for an instrumental and just the right length. But where’s Brendan 2? Merchandise shows a punkier side of the band amazing instrumentals and sloppy but solid vocals just works great you know. Blueprint can be repetitive at moments but it’s still an amazingly written epic sounding song that should be at this position on the album really good It doesn’t look like this album had singles but this should’ve been one! I love the way sieve-fisted find builds up this song is darker sounding and heavier in an already heavy album it’s just wonderful and hard to fault. Greed is a short little thing with only a few lines just blurted out, not my favourite but I love when heavier albums have songs where they can just scream. ( If you like this see also six shooter by queens of the stone age). The album goes slightly more mellow with two beats off, this it still explodes a ton but the verses are done with little distortion which works as a good contradiction to the rest of the album! The rapid guitars in the mental track styrofoam are amazing; it’s a true screamer, dirty but with an awesome edge to it that other bands really lack. The penultimate track off the album reprovisional tricks the listener into thinking it will be slow and mellow but it reveals itself to be this sludgy and heavy mix of sounds. It’s probably the worst one out of the tracks that aren’t really short or instrumentals but it’s still loveable. The album shuts the door with shut the door this is definitely the most mellow of the songs but it still has everything that a listener would want from this band really cool. It might not be everyone’s cup of yea but I found it near impossible to find fault with this. It’s the kinda album I would wanna make if I knew what I was doing. Mental but with swagger!
There a fewer bands who truly mattered to its fans more than this one. And it’s easy to see why on the strength of this album. The guitar work is enthralling and surprising. The song structures always catch you off guard without sacrificing a hook or melody, though there are some which leave more of an impression than others. In fact, there are few album openers as fraught with tension and engagement as “Turnover”. Another favourite of mine is “Merchandise” which gives Ian Mackaye the necessary soap box to berate and animate you into action. The comparisons to GoF’s Solid Gold are justified to an extent, but it’s clear that Fugazi’s pop sensibility was a lot less pronounced than their English predecessors. Nevertheless, it is there and it’s to the overall benefit of the album’s flow. I was in-between 4 and 5 stars for this one but I’m going to go with the maximum rating in the end for what this band stood for - a musical and social revolution.
Fugazi’s Repeater was an album I had on heavy rotation even before learning it was in the 1001. I love this band. Highlights: Repeater, Merchandise, Blueprint, Sieve-Fisted Find
I think I have other favorite Fugazi albums, but this one is good as well. It's driving and intense, just as Fugazi always was.
Finally an album I love. Fugazi rock and I'll be listening to this forever.
Fugazi have been a big uncomfortable hole in my musical palette - I know they're feted and have influenced dozens of bands I'm super in to, but I never set out to give them a listen and make their acquaintance. Hurrah for this project, I guess! To no-one's surprise, I loved this. A great and varied listen, with numerous little moments that made me stop and pay attention. I actually gave this 4 listens before rating it as each time it felt like it reward more attention, and it did indeed! Fave track - that's a tough one - "Merchandise", "Blueprint", "Two Beats Off" all caught me attention. "Reprovisional", though..... yeah, let's say "Reprovisional"!
fugazi sets the high watermark for early hardcore punk. this is NOT a blind spot for me, as i very much enjoy this band's bass-heavy and exciting songwriting. a lot of punk bands put the bassist in the corner, but not fugazi they're inventive, lyrically clever, loud, and unabashed. this album came out in 1990! so influential, so cool, overall very fun and interesting stuff. love love love this band and so many bands they influenced
ovog gospodina sam gledao neki dan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeEAqRIzfJA i njegova priča o Fugazi. Fugazi je kvaliteta, jebiga. Pogotovo ovaj album. Prve dvije stvari su bomba, najviše Turnover - ubija stvar. Dakle 9/10 odmah bi dao, definitivno jak album, jak. Moguće da mi se nijedan njihov album neće svidit kao ovaj.
It's difficult to pin this down since, over 30 years later, "post hardcore" means something else entirely. Think this record does a great job of bringing fresh ideas to the table, and has wonderful dynamic and rhythm play. "Greed" has some excellent uses of this. There's a lot of intensity, but it's not all rage, rage. It's there, below the surface, slowly boiling over. Favorite tracks: "Repeater", "Styrofoam", "Merchandise"
That was really good. If punk rock is the kid that shows up late every day, possibly drunk or high, and proceeds to ask the teacher smart-ass questions from the back row of the classroom, then Fugazi is what would happen if that kid went on to become valedictorian. There are a lot of musical ideas packed together here, and the songs feel longer than they actually are (which I mean in the best possible way). I'm also a big fan of the interplay between instruments and the loud-soft dynamics; it reminds me of Slint at times. The 3 Songs EP (sometimes included with Repeater) is also worthwhile. Best song: Shut The Door is absolutely killer, but there are so many others to choose from as well.
I was expecting something much harder based on the wiki. Better than expected, like the punk vibes.
It's not something I would listen to often, but when the moment is right this album kicks ass. My favorite song was Merchandise
Classic white people doing the "contemplative rage" approach. One of my favorite Fugazi records. Best song in the Transworld - Interface video. Chad Fernandez part.
I don't know much hardcore but I like Fugazi, this is my favourite of theirs
It's pretty good actually, good equality in the album. You can find these hardcore songs pretty punks, but other ones are more like post-rock and post-punk which I really love, to find it in this album. Nice
I don't really love any of the songs on this one, but I love the energy of all of them. I could really listen to this all the time.
Let me preface my ignorance. Grew up in NorCal listening to Clear Channel Radio Stations. That being said, the intro to Turnover had wondering what I had been given. When the guitar kicked in I was leaning in a little. When Ian comes in, my reaction is"Oh Punk Rock". Well I don't know shineOla. By the Time Brendan 1 one comes on I realize that these guys know how to play and write music.This album gets better the longer you listen to it. Cool riff driven music. Cool time changes. Ian's voice at time reminda me if Bon Scott. Love the funk that gets sprinkled in to the mix.
This album rocks, and has a blast doing it. The drums and bass are tight and mixed fantastically, and everything is really riff-y. Lots of statement songs, the band definitely had something to say and said it. The right kind of punk rock.
crunchy grooves, expressive guitar riffs, and some genuinely solid lyrics. for any fans of The Knife out there: i noticed in the song Blueprint he says "what a difference a little difference would make." which is a lyric in Raging Lung off shaking the habitual... i have to imagine karin got it from this album; pretty cool source to pull from.
Fugazi holds great importance for their contributions to the post-hardcore genre. They are my favorite band's favorite band. Underneath the screaming vocals and loud guitar, these guys are expert songwriters. It is computationally complex without becoming overbearing or boring. It is simply a better vehicle to carry hardcore punk to new heights. Obviously they are not the first post-hardcore band, with the likes of Minutemen and Husker Du doing great things with the genre in the 80's, but 90's post-hardcore was ran by Fugazi, alongside Unwound, The Jesus Lizard, and a particularly notable album from Slint. I think this is the stuff of champions.
I did enjoy much of it. Some I thought was dated. Would love to give a 3.7, but I will be generous and round up to a 4.
Fugazi is one of those 'just before my time' bands. I was too busy discovering Dinosaur Jr and Pixies in the early nineties to go back in time even a few years. I knew Fugazi were important and I can certainly see their influence on bands that I was into (especially something like At The Drive-In, much later) but I prefer 'my version' of this sound. Listening to it now I think I am enjoying the historical references more than the music. It certainly has it's moments but it's a bit too jazzy for me and I am not too keen on those muffled, indierock voices. 7/10
Post-hardcore classic. Probably my favorite Fugazi album. 8-9/10 1. Reprovisional 2. Two Beats Off 3. Repeater
Fugazi is basically a lesson in how to be an older punk. You can't be angry in the same way a kid can, but you can still show fire and not sell out. You can show that growth can be good. I always preferred Minor Threat's immediacy, but now I'm a bit older, I can actually enjoy this a lot more. Damn, the track Repeater sounds a little bit Paul Simon. It's really good. Half the speed of MT, but Ian MacKaye is still obviously there, still expressing. It's really good, it zips, it's fiercely anti capitalist, it is a good, but not quite five star album.
It depends if you prefer garage rock form the 90s or alt music with a clearer tune structure.nof it's the former, Fugazi ar one of the best.