With all the nu-metal shenanigans that have been bombarding the alt-rock scene recently, it would be easy to confuse a band called My Vitriol as an identikit Slipknot/Amen noise-machine. You know, the kind of band that pretend they have their morning's cornflakes swimming in sulphuric acid.
Thankfully, My Vitriol are nothing of the sort. This London-based quartet deal in good old-fashioned indie rock. Their debut album, 'Finelines' boasts a collection of deliciously raucous songs, dripping in bittersweet lyrics that'll smart your throat every time you try to sing along.
If you've heard the singles, you'll know that frontman and songwriter, Som Wardner, has an excellent ear for radio-friendly, catchy tunes. Current single, 'Always Your Way', and last year's releases 'Losing Touch', 'Cemented Shoes' and 'Pieces', drift along with dreamy guitar hooks and powerfully soft vocal harmonies that tease you towards ballad territory, before furiously dragging you by the hair to the mosh pit. He also delivers classic rawk anthem choruses with a delicate vitality and pop-melody that would be right at home on a Foo Fighter's record.
But don't be fooled into thinking that 'Finelines' is an easily-digestible ray of indie sunshine. There's an unnerving dark calm seeping through tracks like 'Infantile', 'Ode To The Red Queen' and 'Under The Wheels', with the spiralling, reverb-drenched indulgency reminiscent of Slowdive and early Verve offerings. Then there's 'C.O.R', half a minute of Nirvana-style, thrash-tastic guitar and pained screaming. Vitriolic indeed.
'Finelines' is like waking-up with a head-caving-in hangover to find you're still in the clothes from the night before and there's a stranger chucking up in your kitchen sink. But as you wonder where it all went wrong, something assures you that it's gonna be alright after-all. In fact, having someone to share your cornflakes with is uncomfortably satisfying. Great, almost. And that's exactly what 'Finelines' is.
But just like Pinkie in Graham Greene's Brighton Rock, where this band get their name, you've got that bottle of vitriol in your pocket. Just in case...
