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Fugazi: First Demo

Fugazi is my favorite band, so it's deeply saddening to me that the DC post-hardcore legends have been on hiatus for nearly a decade. They'll probably never make music again. But in the absence of new tunes to sink my teeth into, I'll settle for their demo, which was recorded 26 years ago.

Next week, Dischord Reecords will release First Demo, and in advance they've put the whole thing up on Soundcloud. I love demo and alternate take material because it sheds new light on the artist and song writing process. Sometimes, even a slight change to the performance of a song changes its impact entirely. In this regard, First Demo is remarkable. It features some of Fugazi's best songs, but with some striking differences between what ended up on the actual records further down the line. In particular, the woozier, sloppier performance of "Badmouth" has a certain populist flavor that's different than the orderly original.

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Best of all, the recording quality is great, which means that more than an "interesting" collectors item for completists, First Demo something you can listen to over and over again. [Dischord]

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