My Vitriol: Finelines/BetweenTheLines
For a new band like My Vitriol to appear on the scene and make such an impression with their debut album, it is a rare enough occurence. The original version of this album, Finelines, was released in 2001. A spellbinding blend of the chorused, distorted guitars and frantic air of Nirvana, the catchy tunes of the likes of Guided By Voices and shoegazing atmospherics of My Bloody Valentine, Finelines showed them to be one of the most promising new British bands. In 2002, the album was rerelased in the same format as the US version: remastered and with Betweenthelines, a bonus disc of b-sides and rarities.
Firstly, Finelines is a great album. From the echoing guitars of the instrumental opener Alpha Waves to the distorted drums of the concluding track Under the Wheels, their sound is fresh, exciting and, despite the evidence of their influences, individual. What makes this record special is how the difficult balance between the radio-friendly melodies and the ambient soundscapes is maintained. It could very easily have been just another indie album or experimental effects pedal-laden swathe of noise, but songwriter/vocalist/rhythm guitarist Som Wardner combines the two extremely well. The singles Grounded, Losing Touch, Pieces and Always: Your Way are chart material but there is much more depth to both these songs and the rest of the album. The lyrics, although sometimes drowned out by the sound of guitar, bass and drums are deep and almost vague but somehow still easy to relate to. The songs flow effortlessly into one another, aided by brilliant intermission pieces Kohlstream and Taprobane, which are great music in their own right.
Then there’s the bonus disc. A sixteen track album with a minimal amount of filler is commendable, but to have just as much again in b-sides and hard-to-find material is nothing short of remarkable. It’s not as if the quality is much lower, either. In fact, it’s hard to see why some of them were left off the original release in the first place. Moodswings was released as a separate single but the rest could probably have done the same. The covers of Game of Pricks, Static and Wait a Minute are equally as good as the material on disc 1, but their version of Oh Father (by Madonna, of all people!) deserves special recognition here. So too do the more acoustic numbers which show the band’s ability to successfully pen songs that are not just distorted, fx-laden walls of sound. The stunning live recording of Breakfast, the disc’s highlight in my opinion, follows an acoustic version of Always: Your Way which, like the acoustic version of Losing Touch, gives the song a whole new dimension.
In Summary
A superb debut album, with enough extra material (including two CD-ROM videos) to make it an extremely worthwhile purchase. Highly recommended.
Tracklisting
Disc 1: Finelines
- Alpha Waves
- Always: Your Way
- The Gentle Art of Choking
- Kohlstream
- Cemented Shoes
- Grounded
- C.O.R. (Critic Orientated Rock)
- Infantile
- Ode to the Red Queen
- Tongue Tied
- Windows and Walls
- Taprobane
- Losing Touch
- Pieces
- Falling Off the Floor
- Under the Wheels
Disc 2: Betweenthelines
- Deadlines
- Wait a Minute
- Windows and Walls (acoustic)
- Safety Zones & Crumple Zones
- Vapour Trails
- Taprobane & Losing Touch
- Oh Father
- Spotlights
- Moodswings
- Game of Pricks
- Another Lie
- It Came Crashing
- Static
- Always Your Way (acoustic)
- Breakfast (live)
- All Of Me
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