My Vitriol: A Pyrrhic Victory EP
I often wonder what’s going on with My Vitriol. After making such a splash with their debut album Finelines, followed by a two disc reissue and numerous tours and interviews, things have been very quiet on the releases front for a very long time. Recording albums isn’t something to be rushed but it’s been eight years or so, y’know? I’m hoping A Pyrrhic Victory is a sign of things to come and not the milestone for several more years of hiatus.
The thing is, this record has everything I love about MV and more but it’s barely a taster. War of the Worlds, bandied around as the single for that infamous upcoming second album, is one of their strongest numbers; hell, it’s absolutely immense (and as such, is excellent live). The shrieking rise-and-fall guitar riff is accompanied by vocals battling for supremacy over what I reckon is Ravi’s heaviest ever recorded drumming. It feels more insistent and brave than anything on their first album; like much of Muse’s recent work it’s hard to tell whether the lyrics are about world events, personal issues, or both. Basically it’s MV at their best, and is worth the RRP on its own.
Lord Knows How I’ve Tried could well have been intended to be another high-gain, FX-laden slab of shoegazey noise but this, the ‘mellow version’ comes with a haunting and atmospheric sensation of doubt and loneliness. The synthesised-sounding percussion and textured overdubs carry an almost funereal feel, with a piano line reminiscent of the intro to the acoustic version of Windows and Walls. It’s easy to forget how they can pen such moving slow, quiet songs when their singles are anything but slow and quiet; this one is a great foil to the first track and features some of Som’s finest vocal work too.
Their version of Toy Soldiers is an odd one but as is so often the case when MV cover songs they somehow manage to make it their own (Re: the baffling yet dazzling take on Madonna’s Oh Father). I’d never actually listened the original Martika version before hearing the cover either, just so you know. Still, the soaring chorus, punctuated by more of the trademark quavering and shimmering distortion from Som’s and Seth’s guitar pedal boards, is oh so very My Vitriol I don’t mind at all.
The Electrowar remix isn’t an unexpected addition considering the rock conventions for EP and single B-sides but the reworking of the first track had me wondering about future directions the band could take. Might they make remixes an integral part of their tracklistings in future? Or work it into the main sound to silence the critics when their My Bloody Valentine+Nirvana template gets old? It’s an effective re-imagining of the song though: the towering riffs become a brooding then hypnotic synthesised effort with sampled vocals that draw it to a close.
If the title and sleeve artwork didn’t make it obvious, the lyrical content proves that My Vitriol are a more politically outspoken band than they once were. I think rock artists taking on politics is a bit risky at the best of times; not many can pull it off without sounding hackneyed, insincere or misguided. In MV’s case I suspect the ongoing involvement of the UK in Iraq and Afghanistan provided the inspiration here, and it works. I don’t have anything against progressive politics in popular music but keeping the theme for a mere EP is putting the point across without labouring it, mind.
What I do welcome is the broader and more mature songwriting that is on show: not only is the subject matter more topical and far-reaching the band seem to be progressing musically too. Granted, we have little to go on here but the storming opening track, a more restrained B-side, a surprising cover and an (for them) unusual remix are a neat cross-section of their sound with some tantalising extras. It promises a lot in terms of what they release next but the important thing now is for them to deliver on that promise. Seriously guys, you are still out there, aren’t you?
