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Apr 8, 2011There will surely be those who really want to hate Pedals, and they won't have any difficulty finding justification for their scorn within the album's ten tracks. Nonetheless, it's a winning return, though perhaps not entirely worth the wait.
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Apr 5, 2011Even with some of the more outstanding flaws, the album is worthy of a listen by both post-hardcore aficionados and fans of the group members' other bands.
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Apr 4, 2011At this point Rival Schools sound like Nada Surf without the pop nous or OK Go without the videos. Perfectly listenable, perfectly agreeable, absolutely forgettable.
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Mar 30, 2011Maybe I'm just a sucker for simultaneously fleet-footed and heavy, anthemic rock songs that veer towards warm, wry humanism rather than either empty platitudes or snide cynicism, but as far as I'm concerned Pedals' 35 minutes contains more wisdom and beauty than most records twice its length.
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Mar 11, 2011And my sixteen-year-old-self waits with baited-breath, wracked with the same nervous excitement I had a decade ago except this time, there's anticipation and expectation, justification, even, for an album I've waited almost half my life for.
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Alternative PressMar 11, 2011While the album may not move you the way their first album does, maybe it'll just take a minute for the second one to sink in, too. [Apr 2011, p.120]
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Under The RadarMar 9, 2011One can always count on [Walter Schreifels] for ample moments of songwriting gold and guitar rapture. [Feb. 2011, p. 67]
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Mar 9, 2011Wisely, it follows United's recipe of dynamic pop-rock and raw, old-school emo.
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Mar 8, 2011If Rival Schools had returned and tried to sound like the same band they were in 2001, there would have been the very real danger of it feeling disingenuous and forced, as if they were trying to recapture their glory days. Instead, the band is more relaxed and confident, and not afraid to experiment a little.
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Mar 8, 2011Pedals reveals a group of reenergized vets who've hardly mellowed with
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Mar 8, 2011Rival Schools have finally returned from an inexplicably long hiatus to demonstrate why they're such luminaries for today's post-hardcore hordes.
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Mar 8, 2011A worth-the-wait second LP a decade after the New Yorkers' celebrated debut.
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Mar 8, 2011A stunning opener to the album, its dynamic range, gleaming melody and driving anthemic nature exemplify what this band was always all about.
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RevolverMar 8, 2011Although it's been a full decade since their last release, United by Fate, Rival Schools don't miss a beat on this reunion disc. [Mar/Apr 2011, p. 88]