Photo Finish
That Walter Schreifels has managed to outlast his ’80s New York Hardcore brethren isn’t a mistake. Indeed some argue that Cro Mags’ Age of Quarrel was the top of the era; others perhaps will point to early Agnostic Front Killing Time or even Underdog releases. But whether Schreifels’s contributions to the mid-game hardcore canon — notably the melodi-core of Gorilla Biscuits the metallic crunch of Quicksand or the carefree pop of Walking Concert — were the best of its ilk is irrelevant. Craig Setari and Roger Miret have managed to survive the ravages of time but they’ve hardly released anything noteworthy since the Mulroney era. Not so for Schreifels.
With Shot after Shot he revisits Rival Schools the post-hardcore act that last released the minor hit LP United by Fate in 2001 (along with an unreleased sophomore album featuring a glorious cover of the Buzzcocks’ “Why Can’t I Touch It”). Shot After Shot for its part is a three-song digital-only preview of the band’s upcoming full-length Pedals due in March. The title track — which also appears in acoustic form — is Rival Schools at its most bitter; atop dissonant guitar leads and sizzling tape-hiss the ever-gravelly Walter cruelly slithers that “Love doesn’t know anything / It believes what it believes.” It’s as abrasive as Quicksand yet nowhere near as heavy as meandering as United by Fate but devoid of major-key tendencies — and it’s a scorcher. Its B-side “Arranged Marriages” however re-introduces Walter’s signature melodies; while its syncopated riff and mismatched laissez-faire vocal harmonies prove that he’s comfortable slacking its shearing post-metal guitar lead reminds us that Schreifels’s collection of influences spans beyond 1999.
Indeed for Rival Schools the post-hardcore label is one that’s taken seriously; plenty of his genre-defining peers now produce embarrassing rap jingles fit for energy drink commercials (cough Ezec) but Schreifels actually applies the lessons learned from hardcore. The bedrock of fat-free dramatically effective songwriting is still evident but here Schreifels has managed to better his greying peers by evolving. Adapting. And most importantly improving. Which leads to a basic philosophical question: If a two-decade-old hardcore vet produces a 2011 release would anyone listen? In this (rare) case the answer should be yes.
