Sophie's Floorboard: Rival Schools

Rival Schools are a four-piece emo/post-hardcore band from New York City, New York that formed in 1999, and have been intermittently active ever since (first disbanding in 2003, then reuniting in 2008 only to disband again in 2013, and finally reforming in 2022). With such an on-and-off history, they've released three albums over two decades. The band includes singer/guitarist Walter Schreifels and drummer Sammy Siegler, both of whom were already well-established major figures in New York hardcore having both been in CIV, Youth Of Today, and Project X together prior while Schreifels is of course best known for Gorilla Biscuits and Quicksand while Siegler was also in Judge, Bold, Shelter, Side by Side. Basically New York hardcore wouldn't be what it is without these two guys. But Rival Schools if fairly removed from their hardcore origins, at least in terms of sound. Carrying on the post-hardcore groundwork laid by Quicksand into far more melodic territory, Rival Schools plays a shimmering, intricate brand of emo influenced by Braid and Texas Is The Reason while still maintaining that sense of heavy, creative energy that they brought to their previous bands. If you're new to Rival Schools United By Fate is kind of like "the" album by them, but their later output shouldn't be overlooked either. Enjoy.