Fugazi - The Argument (Vinyl)

Fugazi - The Argument (Vinyl)

The Argument may be Fugazi's apex as they transformed  their sound into something different than before. Although retaining the same recording engineer and studio (inner ear) as the last two albums, the Fugazi sound on The Argument shifted into a cerebral, murky wash of beauty and noise, making their most melodic, accessible record that is still somehow extremely dense and challenging. The contrast is most noticeably jarring on "Full Disclosure", where female backing vocals help punctuate this extremely catchy chorus and the guitar line during the bridge is just bursting with joy; the rest of the song is this ugly, shrieking mess of guitars, sinking into an atonal madness. Other songs may feature piano, cello, vibes or even acoustic guitar, often as the focal point of the song. "Strangelight" includes both piano and cello sharing a riff toward the end that repeats for ages while the chords get more abstract.