The band's entry in the
Trouser Press record guide, written by Ian McCaleb, Ira Robbins and Mike Fournier, calls the EP an "impressive debut" which "blends a classic DC-core sensibility with a mature, objective outlook and crisply produced mid-tempo songs that are dynamic, aggressive and accessible." They write that MacKaye and Picciotto "trade raw emotionalism for an introspective, almost poetic vision, using abstractions in strongly structured compositions like “Bulldog Front” and “Give Me the Cure,” a contemplation on death." Andy Kellman of
AllMusic calls the EP "excellent".
CMJ New Music Report reviewed the EP positively, remarking that, despite the band's impressive pedigree,
Fugazi "doesn't trample or get mired in their past, and is one of the best recent releases of the sort. [...] What's most important here is the way the lyrics and music match up, pointing to a necessary maturation in the rarest and most positive sense. The lyrics manage to get sincere viewpoints across without being hokey or preachy, while the music is pared down, and yet more ominous and troubling for it (see "Suggestion")."
Byron Coley, writing in
Forced Exposure, gave
Fugazi a positive review, calling it "easily the best
Dischord release since
Out of Step. [...] Stylistically, this is a hodgepodge, but it's largely a great hodgepodge -- momentary flashes of
Lee Perry,
the Misfits,
Cream, and
the Germs all passed afore my ears while it played." Mark Jenkins of
The Washington Post listed
Fugazi as one of his top releases of 1988, describing the group as "D.C.'s most galvanizing band, edgy and explosive punk-funk whose purpose is just as white-hot as its sound." In a different review also published in
The Washington Post, Jenkins wrote that: ==Legacy==