Rival Schools

Although Rival Schools didn’t technically break up following 2001’s United By Fate, there was no reason to consider the band more than a one-record wonder. With stints with bands from Gorilla Biscuits to Quicksand, frontman Walter Schreifels had made a career out of short-lived but beloved bands. He and his bandmates’ punk and hardcore pasts informed Rival Schools, but the group cut the aggression in favor of melody. It boded well for what came next, but just as the band gained traction, Schreifels moved on to other projects. That made his decision to reconvene Rival Schools in 2008—and write new material—understandably surprising, but Pedals, released this spring, is a lesson in nostalgia, following closely in United’s footsteps as if picking up where they’d left off.  

Updated 10/04/2011