(13-track LP/ Mid-90�s)
US Post-rock pioneers Fugazi have been widely, and deservedly, cited as �One of the most important rock bands ever to abound.� I heard this LP a couple of years ago and gave up getting-into-it as a bad job; it�s hell of a demanding long-haul, but keep with it and you�ll be surprised.
�Bed For The Scraping� (�Situations avoided or just missed?�) pin-points a paranoid, climbing, wanting-out post-punk guitar sound, used so moodily by UK Alternative punk-rock legends The Fall, while it sounds like Britain�s fast-rising Little Hell (who were looking for a new singer; Does that mean Sex-Goddess Lucie�s left the limelight?) owe a lot to Fugazi�s sexy �Latest Disgrace� Glam-punk (�Hey, doctor � heal yourself� shout out, and shoot out the windows�). A consistently backing Lo-fi groove is sliced by grungier grievances, �Birthday Pony� (�I feel like a guest when I�m right here at home�) sent reeling from twisted laughs and an upset piano melody.
Heavy on abstract, wordy snapshots posing as difficult-to-decode lyrics (but, �Autonomy is a world of difference� is straightforwardly terse on �Back To Base�), this 4-piece rock band ultimately demand attention like a classy yet cheap slut attracts high paying custom.
(STEVE RUDD)