4/5 Mixture of Old & New
  by
Nice mixture of old and new. 'Furniture' has been a part of Fugazi's live set for some time--it's good to finally have an "official" version. 'Number 5' and 'Hello Morning' are fairly aggressive tracks, reminiscent of the sound of REPEATER. An interesting contrast to the sparser sound of THE ARGUMENT.

Overall, worth picking up, especially if you like the sound of older Fugazi.

5/5 Part 1 of the Fugazi finale.
  by Ferguson (Evolving)
So it really does look as if Fugazi are no more. '87 to 2001/2002 : 2 ep's, 2 mini albums, 6 studio albums, a soundtrack album, a documentary, countless live shows and status of one of the greatest bands of the past 15 or so years. That's not a bad run by any bands standards is it? Especially when you consider we're dealing with a band that came out of hardcore here, a genre that usually deals with bands burning out and splitting up after a handful of 7"s and one album or turning metal/alternative/polka-folk-bluegrass-jazz-Duran-Duran-lite-goth on their sophmore effort. Even more so when you remind yourself that Fugazi is a band that's never disappointed (well, ok : i admit the more jam-heavy Guy songs on "end hits" did take some getting used to) and, while keeping their style intact, have always managed to evolve and not repeat themselves with each successive release. I guess we can look at this and their "the argument" album as their last hurrah before riding into the sunset without even an official "that's all folks" but what a way to go out.

Track one "furniture" is the old sparse Gang Of Four-ish '87 Ian classic that anyone who has ever been to see Fugazi live a few times is already familiar with. It would've fitted in perfectly on the "6 songs" mini album alongside "waiting room" and "suggestion". Track two "# 5" is an uptempo, pounding Joe and Brendan penned instrumenatal song full of fascinating band interplay between the rhythm section and the two guitarists. And, finally, track three "hello morning" is the Guy effort. Like "# 5" and "full disclosure" from "the argument" ("five corporations" from "end hits" too if you really wanna nitpick) this is the hardest Fugazi have been since the "in on the killtaker" days.

As with every Fugazi release the Don Zientara production is stellar as it always manages to capture their live power, along with the subtle intracies of the music without it sounding overproduced or underproduced. I suppose i can see why they didn't put "# 5" and "hello morning" on "the argument" but, realistically, they would've slotted on there perfectly. Still, it's kinda nice they didn't as they gave us long-time Fugazi fans an ep with a live favorite that had never received studio treatment and two impeccable new tracks. The cd running time is under 10 minutes but this remains one of my favorite releases from the past 5 years.

3/5 Good for collectors and the devoted
  by (USA)
This 3 song EP does harken back to Dischord's vinyl days, and I suspect that's why Fugazi released it in EP form. The main track is a very old (yet very good) song with all the old-style Fugazi punch and vinegar. It's only previously been available in bootleg form (not counting the Instrument film), and now, in keeping with Fugazi's trademark courtesy toward their fans, is available in legit and properly record edition. The other two tracks are nice and typically Fugazi, but not as strong as the main track. "Furniture" alone, however, makes this worth the modest price (compared to other CD singles and EP, that typically run [$$]or more for the some amount of music), but it should be noted that like much of Dischord's back catalog of various EPs, it's hardly essential.

5/5 equally as essential as everything else they put out.
  by Ken Hetland (splitsville, usa)
This is most likely my second most satisfying musical purchase of 2001 (the first being All's new live record.) It's simply ESSENTIAL. I rank this EP up with any of their records. Why am I saying this? If you like Fugazi you'll be purchasing this soon enough anyway.

5/5 Crazy, wild, wacky, old school Fugazi
  by M. Lovasco (Boston, MA)
If you like Fugazi, and you didn't like "The Argument". Pick up this EP. Yes, it is short, but it is classic old school Fugazi at their best. The new recording style makes it sound even better than the older CD's. I'm sure every Fugazi fan has heard "Furniture" before, they play it live all the time, it's even on their documentary, but I bet you've never heard it like this before. Crank up your surround sound and blast this song. There is no better energy rush. "Number 5" is a nice up-tempo instrumental and "Hello Morning" is a "Full Disclosure-ish" song where Guy's flipped-out singing style meets Ian's powerful tones. If you are a hardcore Fugazi fan, do yourself a favor,(. . .)and pick up this single.