Diverse Release for Fugazi Avant-Garde Supergroup

Comprised of Fugazi’s rhythm section and guitar maestro Anthony Pirog, The Messthetics is a supergroup quite unlike those that came before them. This is, in part, because it’s the first band that Fugazi bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty have played in since that group’s 2002 hiatus. And, in part, because Pirog is a major jazz and experimental session musician and composer, having recorded alongside artists like Henry Kaiser, Elliot Sharp and Smashing Pumpkins’ Jimmy Chamberlain (just to scratch the surface), and served as conductor for major orchestras around the country. The result of this unique coming together is The Messthetics, the group’s self-titled, instrumental debut, which is out on Dischord.

The Messthetics is a record almost too full of textures and colors, from noise to ambient, and from intricate to four-on-the-floor—at times, it runs the risk of losing any kind of “line of best fit.” It’s not that an album must be one cohesive suite, that isn’t the problem here. It just feels like the better parts of the record get buried beneath the appeal to sound noisy or discordant. A record full of interesting melodies and rhythms, the more atonal sections sound more out of place here than they would have on a Fugazi record—it’s as if Canty and Lally are holding on to some element of Fugazi’s formula to success.

While the album’s first two tracks, “Mythomania” and “Serpent Tongue” certainly scratch the aggressive shoegaze itch that many Fugazi fans might still have, the third track, “Once Upon A Time,” blends the noise, jazz and ambient elements perfectly. With glances to more contemporary aesthetics, this track slowly builds into an ever-expanding soundscape offering the grooviest combination of Pirog’s guitar work and the rhythmic support of Canty and Lally.

The middle section of this album really turns introspective, with ambient mini-tracks like “Your Own World” and “Radiation Fog” providing some buoyant anchorage. “The Inner Ocean” builds on the momentum of “Your Own World” and slowly ascends into a cathartic crescendo. Album closer “The Weaver” seems to slip right off the end of the record. A slowly pulsating track, it reveals the patience and maturity of both the Fugazi members and Pirog, who collectively bring out something quite special on this record.

There really is a bit on here for everyone: for Fugazi fans, there are tracks on this record that are sure to help you relive the ’90s; for guitar enthusiasts, Pirog demonstrates a remarkable ability to tell you stories, using only melodies produced from a guitar; and for those looking to expand their musical appetite, The Messthetics is a great place to start exploring bands like Fugazi and the scores of groups they influenced.