Margin Walker | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | June 1989 | |||
Recorded | December 1988 | |||
Studio | Southern Studios (London) | |||
Genre | Post-hardcore | |||
Length | 17:08 | |||
Label | Dischord | |||
Producer | John Loder | |||
Fugazi chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
MusicHound Rock | [2] |
OndaRock | 7.5/10 [3] |
Punknews.org | [4] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [5] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock | [6] |
Margin Walker is the second EP by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was originally released in June 1989 on vinyl and again in the same year on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the debut EP Fugazi . The 12" vinyl went out of print, but was remastered and reissued by Dischord Records in October 2009. [7]
Margin Walker was recorded at Southern Studios in London, where Fugazi had finished their first European tour. It was produced by John Loder who was the engineer for several underground artists, including anarcho-punk band Crass which greatly influenced Fugazi. [8] Originally intended to be their first studio album, Margin Walker was released as an EP due to what the members perceived as sub-par performances caused by the exhausting tour. [8] [9]
According to Trouser Press , the EP "illustrates just how far Fugazi’s four have traveled from their hardcore beginnings. [...] in MacKaye’s melodic guitar work, the tight, fluid rhythm section, the incisive lyrics and the sharply arranged vocal exchanges." "Continuing to develop the stylings he began with Minor Threat," it continues, "MacKaye manages to make the expletives in the vigorously monotonal, part spoken “Promises” sound somewhat eloquent." [10] Andy Kellman of AllMusic called it an "equally excellent follow-up to the Fugazi EP". [7] Margin Walker was also voted the 2nd best EP of the year in the 1989 Pazz & Jop poll, behind Lucinda Williams' Passionate Kisses . [11]
In a 2014 retrospective piece on 13 Songs, Washington City Paper 's Brandon Gentry writes that "[w]hile Margin Walker sounds more polished than Fugazi, it doesn’t lack in intensity or intelligence. The title track’s stunray guitar and elastic bass lines are the ideal backdrop for MacKaye’s and Picciotto’s traded lyrical barbs. “And the Same” combines slashing chords and shouted invective into a scathing diatribe against racism and retrograde thinking. “Promises” is an insightful meditation on trust, betrayal, and the acceptance of disappointment." [12]
"Margin Walker" was covered live by Wild Flag. [13] "Provisional" was covered by The Dirty Nil as a b-side to their "No Weaknesses" single. [14] Ryan Adams covered the track "Promises" live. [15]
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Margin Walker" | Picciotto | 2:30 |
2. | "And the Same" | MacKaye | 3:27 |
3. | "Burning Too" | MacKaye | 2:50 |
4. | "Provisional" | Picciotto | 2:17 |
5. | "Lockdown" | Picciotto | 2:10 |
6. | "Promises" | MacKaye | 4:02 |
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore punk band Minor Threat and post-hardcore band Fugazi. MacKaye was also the bassist for the short-lived band the Teen Idles, and frontman for Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. MacKaye is a member of The Evens, a two-piece indie rock group he formed with his wife Amy Farina in 2001 and in 2018 formed the band Coriky with Farina and his Fugazi band mate Joe Lally.
Out of Step is the third EP by American hardcore punk band Minor Threat. It was released on vinyl in April 1983 through Dischord Records. Although Out of Step has only been released on CD in limited quantities, it has been repressed on vinyl as recently as 2010. All tracks from the album are available on Minor Threat's 1989 compilation album Complete Discography.
Fugazi was an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consisted of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transcending music, DIY ethical stance, manner of business practice, and contempt for the music industry.
13 Songs is a compilation album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on September 1, 1989 by Dischord Records. The album consists of all the songs from the band's first two EPs, Fugazi and Margin Walker.
Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene.
The Argument is the sixth and final studio album from the post-hardcore band Fugazi released on October 16, 2001, through Dischord Records. It was recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and the Dischord House between January and April 2001. It was the band's last release before going on hiatus in 2003, until the release of First Demo over thirteen years later.
End Hits is the fifth studio album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on April 28, 1998, by Dischord Records. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios from March 1997 to September 1997 and produced by the band and Don Zientara, and saw the band continuing with and expanding upon the in-studio experimentation of their previous album Red Medicine (1995). Due to the title, rumors began circulating at the time that it was to be their last release.
Joseph Francis Lally is an American bassist, vocalist and record label owner, best known for his work with Fugazi.
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C., in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.
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.
Steady Diet of Nothing is the second studio album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released in July 1991 by Dischord Records. Although a persistent rumor alleges that the title is an allusion to a quote by the late American stand-up comedian Bill Hicks, the album title predates the Hicks quote by several years and was actually thought up by bassist Joe Lally.
Happy Go Licky was an American post-hardcore band formed in the spring of 1987, and which broke up after their final show at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club on New Year's Day in 1988. The group was a short-lived reunion of the renowned D.C. hardcore band Rites of Spring.
Washington, D.C., hardcore, commonly referred to as D.C. hardcore, sometimes styled in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in the United States.
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Red Medicine is the fourth studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on June 12, 1995, by Dischord Records. It is the band's most commercially successful album, peaking at number 126 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart.
Fugazi, also known as the EP 7 Songs, is the debut eponymous release by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. As with subsequent release Margin Walker, Guy Picciotto did not contribute guitar to this record; all guitar was performed by Ian MacKaye. It was originally recorded in June 1988 and released in November 1988 on vinyl and again in 1989 on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the following EP Margin Walker. The photo used for the album cover was taken on June 30, 1988 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Furniture is the fourth and most recent EP released by American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was recorded in January and February 2001, the same time that the band was recording their last album, The Argument, and released in October 2001 on 7" and on CD.
3 Songs is a 7-inch EP by Washington, D.C., post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was originally released in a collectors edition of 2,000 copies by Sub Pop Records as the December 1989 issue of their Singles Club. Dischord Records gave the record wider release one month later with different cover and label art. Later that year Dischord coupled the 3 Songs EP with the LP Repeater to make up the Repeater + 3 Songs CD.
The discography of Fugazi, an American post-hardcore band, consists of six studio albums, four EPs, a compilation album, a soundtrack album, a demo and a series of hundreds of live recordings. All of the band's releases have been published by Dischord Records, the independent record label co-owned and operated by Fugazi singer and guitarist Ian MacKaye.
First Demo is a demo album from the post-hardcore band Fugazi released on November 18, 2014 through Dischord Records. It was recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and the Dischord House in 1988. It was the band's first studio release in over thirteen years, since the release of The Argument in October 2001. First Demo was released on LP, CD and as a digital download.