In 2011, 10 years after debuting with the excellent United By Fate, post-hardcore outfit Rival Schools returned from a hiatus to release Pedals, a solid effort that seemed to comfortably pick up where the Walter Schreifels-fronted band left off a decade prior.
But somewhere in between there was a “lost” album – that most mythical concept. Rival Schools have their own version, and what once was lost now is Found (sorry). On April 9, the band will release Found, a remastered collection of those lost tracks originally meant to serve as the second album.
Below is a stream of one of the songs, “Indisposable Heroes” and a Q&A with Schreifels (unedited by me) that the group’s marketing firm included with the email blast about the album. It offers all the details you’d want about the unearthing of Found.
If the original members of Quicksand can perform together for the first time in 13 years, then I figure it’s not too much to ask to publish my first blog post in nearly a week.
I’m not that into the recent surge of reunions – I hate the idea of selling out my cherished memories for one last go-round that likely will leave me disappointed anyway – but this re-emergence of Quicksand, well, I’ll make an exception for that. The band’s 1993 full-length debut, Slip, is an airtight classic that is just begging for some sort of deluxe reissue treatment – and what better time than its 20th anniversary (!) next year? (The band’s second, and last, album, Manic Compression is also not to be overlooked.)
Any thought of a full-blown reunion appears to be just speculation at this point, but Walter Schreifels and Co. were the surprise guests at the Revelation Records 25th anniversary show on June 10 at the Glass House in Pomona, Calif. They played five songs – four from Slip and a Smiths cover of “How Soon Is Now?” that they released as a B-side in ’93. Someone recorded the set from what appears to be the side of the stage, a great angle that really lets you see people freaking out over this (and protecting themselves from stage divers).
Quicksand is scheduled to perform at the FYF Fest in Los Angeles in September – reason enough to start planning a road trip. Before the final song at the Glass House, Schreifels seems to leave open the possibility that these aren’t just one-off shows: “I don’t know where this is all gonna lead … ”
Here’s hoping for more dates. In the meantime, I’ll have to see if I still have my ticket stub from that Quicksand/Rage Against the Machine show from back in the day.
Setlist from the Pomona reunion show:
1. Omission
2. Unfulfilled
3. Fazer
4. Dine Alone
5. How Soon Is Now? (Smiths cover)
