Rites of Spring - End On End (1991)

From allmusic (4.5/5):

"Released on CD by Dischord in 1991, this digital version of End on End covers the complete recorded output of the legendary Rites of Spring: their self-titled LP, the All Through a Life EP, and one extra song. One of the first bands to be labeled emocore, Rites of Spring would seem to transcend all labels as their music cuts right through to the heart of universal human experience. Emotional? Yes -- check out the bitter memorial relived on "For Want Of," the pulse pounding moment-grab that is "Drink Deep," or the devoted searches for honesty and meaning explored on "End on End," "Theme," and really just about every track on the disc. Hardcore? Yes -- emerging from the D.C. scene, the music is pure focused energy, not a single note wasted. The band at times is fast and furious, at other times lush and evocative though always with a sense of drive and melody. Rites of Spring hint at some of the territory vocalist/guitarist Guy Picciotto and drummer Brendan Canty would later survey with Fugazi, but this band is much more than just a stepping stone. End on End, quite simply, is a testament to the rich possibilities of sincerity in music."



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Drive Like Jehu - Drive Like Jehu (1991)

From allmusic (4.5/5):

"Pitchfork was a fine enough band, but whatever happened between those days and the launch of Drive Like Jehu made the newer group a quantum leap forward, as this gripping album demonstrates. Starting with the deceptively calm then ripping "Caress," Drive Like Jehu lives up to the Biblical reference of the group's name by feeling like a heaven-sent storm taking everything along with it at 200 mph. The Rick Froberg/John Reis guitar team sound like they've been dipped in battery acid, wired to a power station, and let absolutely loose, screaming, nervous riffs piled on top of each other and taking off for Mars. Froberg's own wild scream singing suits it perfectly, sounding like something's about to give and leave nothing in its wake. The concluding chorus to "Spikes to You" is a call-and-response from hell, his strangled wail sounding like a last desperate cry for help, while "Good Luck In Jail" sounds even more like something from beyond a violent, horrifying wall of sound. Reis helps out himself every so often, with equally fierce results -- "Step on Chameleon" practically burns with threat both vocally and musically, Froberg's additional interjections on the chorus even more unsettling while the weirdly beautiful mid-song break takes things to an even higher level. Meanwhile, the Mike Kennedy/Mark Trombino rhythm section know when to cut out and when to go full out, throwing in a bunch of tempo shifts and changes per song without sounding like wanky prog rock wannabes. Everything is done in the service of intensity and emotion, winding everything up to explode and then explode again, as with the heart-in-throat shuddering start to "If It Kills You." Even the group's quietest moments loom with threat, sometimes just needing Kennedy's bass or a soft hum of feedback, as on the start of "O Pencil Sharp," to make the point."

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