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I certainly know some of the builders etc across the hall who believe in the new school geo. The ones I know, for the terrain they ride in and for aggressive riding, the new geometry makes sense. I am not even talking FS as I do not ride them. Specifically geo based on a longer front center and higher trail number than standard mountain bikes while keeping weight distribution balanced and the rear center relatively short and tucked under. I can say for sure that if you want to rail a hard tail on really rocky and rooty East coast single track, the new geo has significant benefits.
I still ride mostly old school geo because I live in the midwest and its great there.
I have one custom hardtail that is new school and I take it out for the rough stuff, the drop ins, anytime I am looking at fast challenging trails. Techy chunky XC at a bare minimum and even then I am usually back on something a little steeper.
While mine is custom, and I would always recommend that if possible, I am a fan of bikes like the Esker Hayduke and some of the Chromag stuff along with a number of other new shops that are producing interesting modern hardtails.
Your trails will tell you what kind of bike is for you so you are probably on the right track to stay on the XC end of things based on how your local trails sound.
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