While New York Rivals just formed this summer, they boast a refined, refreshing style that seems to be backed by years of experience writing songs and touring the country. It's no coincidence. With former members of Great Big Planes and Armor for Sleep, this Brooklyn four-piece consists of tri-state area veterans coming together to create something special. While the vocals of Josh Moran have a lazy indie swagger similar to singers like The Strokes' Julian Casablanca, the band boast a hard-rocking sense of musicality more in line with bands like Muse and the Deftones. Having just released their new album on iTunes this week, and with a tour with indie legends The Lemonheads under their belt, New York Rivals are already working like professionals in their 2 months as a band. We spoke to guitarist Erik Rudic (pictured far right) about the band's formation, recording their self-titled full-length, and what the future has in store.

How did you guys come together?

Josh (vocals) and Nash (drums) were playing in a project together. I saw that they were looking for a guitar player, so I reached out to them, tried out, and it went well. Then, we went in to record this album we just released and we needed someone to play bass, so we had our buddy Gianni come in. It all kinda gelled so we just kept it the way it was. It all worked out.

What were you doing musically before New York Rivals?

We were all kind of playing in respective projects. Josh was in Great Big Planes and Nash was in Armor for Sleep, and they both broke up and they hooked up. Me and Gianni were playing in a band together, and I saw an opportunity to kinda step up and play with those dudes.

Is there something you get to do musically that you didn't get to do in older bands?

We all get to show off a little. We all have our little moments in the songs. It's not something overly showoff-y, but I get to show my talent and riff a little bit. Most of the newer songs we kinda wrote as a group, so we all got to do flashy stuff.

What was the recording process like for your new full-length?

It was awesome, man. We recorded at Machine Shop which is in Bellevile, New Jersey and Ignition Sound in Brooklyn. Both great studios. They both kinda helped us hone our sound and bring this album together. It all came together quick. Josh had a lot of songs, so all we had to do was lay them down and put our own spin on it. it was definitely a fun process and were all happy with how it came out.

What's your favorite track on the record?

I like "Alcohol" a lot. It's one of the heavier tunes. The first track, "I'm Not Ready Yet" is also one of my favorites.

What have the crowd reactions to your set been like?

Before we hit the road with the Lemonheads, we were playing in the city and the reaction's been great. There hasn't been a show with a bad reaction. And going on tour with the Lemonheads and starting in Tennesee and going up north was a totally different thing. We feel like we got great exposure and gained fans and sold merch, so it was a great response every night, but I feel like when we made our way north and started hitting towns like Boston the reactions got really, really good. We got into a groove and everybody seemed to enjoy it.

What are your guys plans for the rest of the year?

Hopefully we're gonna be jumping on shows here and there up until December. Even though we just put out a new CD, we have bunch of songs written towards a new album. We're gonna possibly try to record somewhere in the near future just to get new music out there and show our versatility. Hopefully 2012 will be our big year for us, just getting out on the road and staying out there, you know?

So the plan is to do the band full-time?

Yea, definitely. That's the plan right now.  We're all in it to win it. We're kinda bankrupting ourselves right now to try and make this happen (laughs). We're definitely giving it our all, thats for sure.