Rival Schools / Onelinedrawing - Rival Schools United By Onelinedrawing

Label: Some
Year: 2001

Back to Walter. I always come back to Walter eventually.
Rival Schools was a tough sell initially for the simple fact that they weren't Quicksand, even though I (we) wanted them to be. In retrospect I (we) should have known to trust Walter and let him lead us into a new era, he won't steer me (us) wrong. Would he?
I mean, for Christ's sake, he had fucking Sammy Siegler from ever NYHC band ever on drums! He had Cache from Iceburn on bass! He had Ian Love from Burn on guitar! I (we) should have just sat back and let this one go nuts.
But that wouldn't be in the grand tradition of music fans (snobs) having a difficult time in allowing our heroes and heroines to evolve past what we feel is within acceptable parameters. And in this case, I (we) wanted more Quicksand. Something loud and heavy and with those stuttering stop/start rhythms that Walter had helped popularize. I (we) are dicks.
Turns out Rival Schools were a slow burning success (musically anyway) that rewards repeated listens to allow the songs to worm into your memory and lodge themselves there for days at a time. Walter always had a knack for sneaking melody into hardcore and post hardcore, so it shouldn't be a stretch to hear those melodies front and center.
But by now you've heard Rival Schools I'm sure, so you know all this.
Here's the ep they did with Jonah Matranga's (ex-Far, New End Original) Onelinedrawing solo project. And it's not crystal clear, but both bands (granted one band is a solo endeavor) are playing on all the songs together, so it's not "pure" Rival Schools or Onelinedrawing. But that's cool I think . Not that I'm a good barometer of what's cool or not...I like Rod Stewart after all.

DL