Passionately moody and melodic rock describes London-based band My Vitriol. Their music is a fusion of the screeching effects-filled dueling guitars of main songwriter Som Wardner and ex-Mint 400 guitarist Seth Taylor, pounding drums of Ravi Kesavaram, booming bass of Carolyn Bannister, and Wardner's soothing (though often screaming) vocals, which are sometimes compared to Kurt Cobain's more melodic moments.
Finelines, like many of the band's songs, alternates between echoing noisy instrumentals and soaring guitars with vocals that range from a whisper to scream often relying on melody rather than hooks or riffs to be memorable. The album begins appropriately with the heavy sounding "Alpha Waves" which has a dream-like quality often heard in their atmostpheric and emotional music.
The enhanced CD includes the videos of their UK singles "Always: Your Way" and "Pieces" and multimedia displays of the album art, which dramatically represents the contrast in their sound.
"The Gentle Art of Choking" begins with wailing high-pitched guitars accompanied by similar vocals. "Kohlstream" is a short instrumental that leads into the lovely "Cemented Shoes" which uses that imagery for the memorable lyric of "Falling at your feet" and more of their screeching guitars. "C.O.R." is a literally screaming instrumental, which stands for "Critic Oriented Rock"—something My Vitriol seem to be annoyed by despite their own critical acclaim from various media outlets. "Infantile" is a track which alternates between whispered vocals, walls of guitar feedback, and more lyrical angst. "Ode to the Red Queen" is a pleasant sounding song with its layers of soaring guitars. "Tongue Tied" is an over 5 minute long instrumental track which alternates between echoing chords and exploding rushes of distortion. "Windows & Walls" is a more subdued song with a slower tempo and more relaxed vocals, with buildup to more crunchy sounding guitars.
Overall, Finelines is an impressive and exciting debut album, with a uniquely dark and melodic sound.
My Vitriol Finelines
