3 Songs (Fugazi EP)
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| 3 Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | December 1989/January 1990 | |||
| Recorded | July 1989 at Inner Ear Studios | |||
| Genre | Post-hardcore | |||
| Length | 7:27 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop, Dischord | |||
| Producer | Ted Niceley | |||
| Fugazi chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
3 Songs is a 7-inch EP by Washington, D.C., post-hardcore band Fugazi, and is It was originally released in a collectors edition of 2,000 copies (800 on black vinyl, 1,200 in green vinyl) by Sub Pop Records as the December 1989 issue of their Singles Club.[2][3] 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.[4]
"Song #1" was covered by Magnapop on their single "Slowly, Slowly".[5]
New Musical Express gave 3 Songs a positive review, writing that "the Washington serious hardcore giants bring us a tiny slab of life. 'Song #1' is the best thing here, a sexy metal riff with brains under the fine line, 'song number one is not a fuck you song,' and a rock tune, reminiscent, indeed, of the better days of punk rock."[6]
Sounds named 3 Songs its "single of the week" for January 13, 1990. Its critic remarked that "'Song #1' finds Washington's finest in a wonderfully lurching mood, the MacKaye/Picciotto guitar team exploring a riff that lunges in a style not unlike "Wild Thing," while the vocal lashes out at youth culture and blind worship of rock 'n rollers."[7]
A positive review in the punk fanzine Flipside referred to "Song #1" as a "great song" with an "infectious chorus," before declaring "you already know that [3 Songs] is a must have."[8] Ernest Drudge of Alternative Press also reviewed the EP positively, noting that "Song #1" is "the rare kind of song that keeps rock music from choking on its own tail. [...] The music is an indescribable mix of punk, funk, and the Beastie Boys."[9]
A review in Melody Maker was more mixed, with its critic describing the single as "a clipped noise, no sprawl in sight. Fugazi stay buttoned-up. It's a punky rant on somewhat addled themes. [...] It may be drivel, but at least they're urgent, up on their nerves and the balls of their feet."[10]
A retrospective review from AllMusic was favorable, noting:
"Song #1" actually sounds like a Minor Threat song in its directness, doing what it can to make things like records, haircuts, and the thoughts of others seem meaningless in the grand scheme of things -- "Life is what you want it to be." "Joe #1" is an instrumental showcase for bassist Joe Lally, also notable for what seems to be the band's first use of piano. "Break In" is a brief slice of anxious hardcore, thanks to Guy Picciotto's hyper vocalizing and the blazing instrumentation from the usual suspects.[11]
