My Vitriol - Finelines

  by Peter Liddle

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

What's so exciting about My Vitriol? Why have some music journalists been waxing lyrically about them for over a year, long before they have even released an album? And why have others given them so much criticism ? My Vitriol tend to avoid answering these kind of questions, and 'Finelines', their debut album, shows that there's no need to ask. After more than a year of speculation, My Vitriol have delivered the goods with a solid, sleek, wonderful record. Forget what you've heard people say and listen to the album and you'll discover these questions just simply don't apply. 'Finelines' is in many respects as powerful an album as Nirvana's 'Nevermind'. It is equally commercial-sounding, but at the same time that's not the essence of it. It is also personal and heartfelt, and most of all it's inspiratinf . Born out of incredible pressure, which began with My Vitriol touring with major bands from its earliest days and playing the London Astoria after only nine gigs together, this album seems to reflect the band's conviction to show what they are capable of. It's diverse, moving, and everything it has been hyped up to be. Instrumental opener 'Alpha Waves' is reminiscent in its mysteriousness of My Bloody Valentine, but has a greater rock edge. It opens out straight into the single 'Always: Your Way' , which has the the band changing style in the middle of the song to great effect. The music is loud, it has heavy drums and strong guitar hooks, but on top of that there's added to it level of beauty, a softness that they are not afraid to play around with. All this works to their advantage - it doesn't appear to be contrived or unnecessary. It instead shows the tremendous potential of songwriter Som Wardner, and the band's ability to push their music to further levels than others might. My Vitriol's greatest strength is their ability to know how to merge together various styles into what is essentially radio-friendly rock, much as Nirvana also did. Heavy-as-hell 'C.O.R', for example, is a 28 second blitz of metal riffs, though it seems to be emphasising the point that to be popular and expressive they don't have to follow the rules. Both 'Infantile' and 'Under the Wheels' on the other hand in contrast features whispered words and soft moaning voices that draw comparisions with My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' album. 'Losing Touch' starts with a thundering repeated riff that seems that it will never end, but when it does launch into its song, there are three minutes of varying but consistently powerful rock, with hooks that even the Foo Fighters would kill for, and guitar sounds that make you think of Mogwai. The same goes for the excellent 'Cemented Shoes' and 'Falling off the Floor', while 'Windows and Walls', like', Infantile' and 'Under the Wheels' show off a much softer side to the band . Even the single 'Pieces', which is slightly less favoured by fans than 'Always: Your Way' is improved on the album, reaching epic proportions that sounds like the best bits of the Smashing Pumpkins.. It is good to see a band that is unafraid to make an album the way it wants. It is daring to have a first album with instrumentals. Many cynics have called gimmicky, and to some this might seem pretentious. The real problem here seems to be that, however, that while My Vitriol are already being labelled to be a "big rock band", they have extended far beyond the labelling that this often bring..The same could be said of the often-mislabelled Deftones, who are incidentally are one of Som Wardner's favoruite bands. To many the Deftones are an arena rock act, but they clearly have influences that extend beyond the rock arena . My Vitriol suffer from the same problem. To label this band would be to hold them back. 'Finelines' has all the hallmarks of a classic. Forget all you've heard about My Vitriol, listen to the album and don't label or decide on anything until you have. No doubt the band will take a while to think out their next move, but in the meantime 'Finelines' is a powerful , impressive statement. One gets thefeeling, however, that this band is capable of going further, and it will be interesting to see what they will from here.

Track Listing:-

1 Alpha Waves
2 Always Your Way
3 The Gentle Art Of Choking
4 Kohlstream
5 Cemented Shoes
6 Grounded
7 COR
8 Infantile
9 Ode To The Red Queen
10 Tongue Tied
11 Windows And Walls
12 Taprobane
13 Losing Touch
14 Pieces
15 Falling Off The Floor
16 Under The Wheels
17 Enhanced CD Rom

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