Search - My Vitriol :: Finelines

Hailing from the same University of London digs as Coldplay and reaching for the mantle of Yank-inflected indie rock when the muscular jock-rock likes of Limp Bizkit are in the ascendancy, youthful Brit-rock four-piece My Vitriol should really have found this debut album business a bit of an uphill struggle. Somewhat surprisingly, though, they've delivered the goods. At its best, Finelines suggests the dynamic scissor-kick choruses and sleek power pop of the Foo Fighters, as envisaged through the effects pedals of My Bloody Valentine sound alchemist Kevin Shields--the spirit of shoegazing spiked with guts, adrenaline, and adolescent fantasies of towering walls of noise. Thankfully, too, this is far more substantial than many debut albums; more than just a smattering of hit singles amid a sea of filler, Finelines is pieced together by slick segues and thoughtful sequencing. Even the effortlessly pop moments, such as roller-coaster-grunge peaks "Always: Your Way" and "Losing Touch," don't show up the occasional mellow forays into creeping-feedback guitar ambience. Any criticisms? Only that the reedy vocals of frontman Som Wardner lack a certain soul, making the actual emotional viscera of Finelines a little indirect. Still, on the basis of this fine debut, there's no reason why My Vitriol couldn't be serious "voice of a generation" contenders. --Louis Pattison