For such a young band, New York Rivals has been making some major waves. Formed in September 2011, the east-coast quartet (with Josh Moran on vocals and guitar, Erik Rudic on lead guitar, Nash Breen on some thunderous drums and Gianni Scalise taking the bass) has been making the most of their time, releasing their debut self-titled album in October, paired with a chaotic DIY music video for their single “I’m Not Ready Yet,” and most recently recording a live EP with punk icon J Robbins, Muzzle the Kids, which is set for a late spring release.

With the guitar-heavy swagger of The Strokes, the raw energy of Queens of the Stone Age and the heart-on-sleeve songwriting of The Pixies, New York Rivals puts on a wild, cathartic live show that pulls audiences to the front of the stage and demands a certain level of energy to match their own—in short, the four-piece has the on-stage authority of a band three times their age. It could be due to this self-assured live act that, in the past several months, they’ve shared the stage with alt-rock legends The Lemonheads on their fall tour, Electric 6, Urge Overkill, Shonen Knife and more. People have started to take notice, too: Besides being on the lips of seemingly every NYC music blogger, BMI chose New York Rivals as their East Coast Pick for the 2012 South By Southwest Festival in Austin. Having signed on with The Agency Group, and with a headlining tour that will take them across the U.S. throughout this entire year, expect Moran, Rudic, Breen and Scalise to be exploding the speakers of a venue near you. Words to the wise: You won’t want to miss it.