Fugazi‘s First Demo, recorded at Inner Ear Studio back in 1988, and initially available as a free cassette at the band’s early shows, will be “re-released” on 12″ vinyl and CD November 18th via Dischord. The group’s line-up at this point included Ian MacKaye on vocals and guitar, Joe Lally on bass, Brendan Canty on drums, with Guy Picciotto providing additional vocals, but not yet playing guitar in the band. “Merchandise” feels timeless as it brims with a sense of creative urgency. Mackaye’s taut, angular guitar-line sounds like a provocation his mates are more than up for, as they help build layers of detailed and simmering intricacy with math-like precision. There’s the sense of an ardent chemistry here, not so much a heated debate, as a passionate conversation between comrades, and when Mackaye and Picciotto tag team on the track’s lyrical refrain, this super-charged energy is amplified into the kind of game changing legacy Fugazi would go on to deliver in the ensuing years.
