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 in regards to chart positions, as it peaked at No. 126 on the Billboard 200 and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background and recording
The group began work on Red Medicine in 1994, after touring in support of In on the Kill Taker. The writing of the album involved several months of jam sessions and recording at Guilford House, a secluded country estate located in Guilford, Connecticut. Unlike most Fugazi songs, which are written collectively during a jam, the opening track "Do You Like Me" was written by singer-guitarist Guy Picciotto and then fleshed out by the rest of the band.
The album's recording sessions took place from January to February 1995 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia. The band worked with the engineer Don Zientara, but did not choose to work with the producer Ted Niceley again. Fugazi opted to retreat from the in-your-face production values of In on the Kill Taker and instead worked to create an ambient sound which would display greater depth. To achieve this, the band handled the production themselves and, in doing so, became more confident with in-studio experimentation. Red Medicine opens with a tape recording made on a boombox with a condenser microphone, and according to Picciotto, several "practice pieces" are interspersed throughout. The effects of Fugazi's experimentation are evident in the incorporation of these short pieces, ("Do You Like Me", "Birthday Pony"), but also in the usage of instruments such as the clarinet (as heard on "Version"), and alternate tunings on songs such as "Latest Disgrace" and "By You".
Release
Critical reception
The album was a critical success: Mark Kemp of Rolling Stone called the album "rock solid".
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Tour
Fugazi embarked on an extensive worldwide tour in support of the album, performing a total of 172 dates between March 1995 and November 1996.
Legacy and influence
Dennis Lyxzén of Refused considers Red Medicine to be his favorite Fugazi album and admitted that the band were influenced by it while recording Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent and The Shape of Punk to Come. Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles cited the album, alongside Shellac's At Action Park, as a major influence on his guitar-playing, noting that they "literally changed the way [he] looked at music". John Frusciante described the album as a "masterpiece". Pelican's Trevor de Brauw included Red Medicine among the 10 albums that influenced his guitar-playing, praising the harmonized guitar-leads on the track "Long Distance Runner," calling them "so sparse but...so emotionally effective. Paired with the lyrics, it packed a real wallop." Travis Shettel of Piebald listed Red Medicine as one of three albums (the others being Frame & Canvas by Braid and Here's Where the Strings Come In by Superchunk) that had a profound influence on their music-making, even admitting that they "stole more bits and pieces and ideas from these three albums than I would like to admit."
Swedish hardcore punk band Refused covered the song "Bed for the Scraping".
Track listing
Personnel
- Ian MacKaye – guitar, vocals
- Guy Picciotto – guitar, clarinet, vocals
- Joe Lally – bass, vocals
- Brendan Canty – drums
Technical
- Jem Cohen – cover art, photography
- Fugazi – cover art, mixing, photography, primary artist
- Joey P. – photography
- Don Zientara – engineer
Charts
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