The Best Punk Records You've Never Heard Of--Part 2 -- Rites of Spring, "End On End"

Rites of Spring were:

Guy Picciotto -- vocals, guitar
Brendan Canty -- drums
Mike Fellows -- bass
Ed Janney -- guitar


            Rites of Spring were a D.C. band from 1985-86 (dates not confirmed). Their album End on End hit me hard in the heart and broke me open emotionally from the first time I heard it. The songs on the album were like little a-bombs dropped on my world. (In 1987, I got a homemade Rites of Spring tattoo).
            Caught at a distance from myself
            And there was noone there to know
           What could I do?
            Sometimes a need can run too deep
           And we throw away the things
            We most wanted to keep
                                       -- "Spring"

           Well I woke up this morning
           With a piece of the past caught in my throat
           And then I choked
                                     -- "For Want Of"

                 Guy's lyrics were both personal and passionate. I responded to them with a fervor I hadn't felt in a long time about a band. I loved how the music would swell and crash like monster waves. This is an album I will always be thankful exists. It is not just a great album, it is beautiful.