Medications – Your Favorite People All in One Place
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Your Favorite People All in One Place Medications Release: Jun 13, 2005 Dischord Records |
Deduct bassist Jeff Boswell, add drummer Andrew Becker, then swap drummer Chad Molter’s instrument to bass and former Dischord band Faraquet transforms into Medications. Confused? No need to be, astounding guitarist/vocalist Devin Ocampo is still doing his job, which makes it easy to heed Faraquet revised.
Your Favorite People All in One Place is undoubtable a Dischord release. Like Q and Not U and Fugazi, Medications crams swinging tinny guitars, frantic abuses of percussive equipment, and danceable dub bass lines into a politically/socially conscience 10 song record. Don’t get me wrong, every Dischord record has character and Your Favorite… is no exemption.
Medications cautiously trip into odd time-signature prog’ unlike their former self Faraquet. Vocally, the melodies are much more determinate. Ocampo and Becker adopt emotional quivers for less punk shouts and calm things down a bit with blatant beautiful voices. It’s surprising how Ocampo’s voice has grown. Faraquet was a “post-punk” band reflective of the time period. Medications is looking beyond. They’ve written a record without tattooing their label mates across their faces. Your Favorite… is an energizing take on a continuation of Dischord Records and Medications have taken the opportunity to add a chapter to the “DC sound.”
Mixing Faraquet with melody driven songwriting Medications’ Your Favorite People All in One Place is a revitalizing Dischord release. Devin Ocampo, Andrew Becker, and Chad Molter have created a certifiable DC record without chaining themselves to clichés. Taking elements from typical DC authorities and throwing in considerations for melodious song flow, Medications is on a great path. Your Favorite People All in One Place will be released Monday, June 13th. If you’re a fan of Fugazi, Q and Not U, The Dismemberment Plan, and of course Faraquet it’s worth picking up.
This is a fantastic album. For anybody who listened to the EP a little much, the first track of “Your Favorite People…” is a tad jarring–a swirl of distortion over a fairly conventional rhythm (not that this is a bad thing). But then the Meds start taking names with “…or at least as bad,” and the madness unravels with the fury of an anti-insurgency operation on the Syrian border. The whole album became an obsession for me after about two listens. My only recommendation is to wear ear plugs if you see them live. Especially if you’re right in front of the band. And even that won’t necessarily help. They made my bowels hurt in the best way possible.