Customer Reviews

Finelines

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you look hard enough and closely enough at anything, you can put it into a formula. Scientists are still searching for the ultimate "Grand Unified Theory" that explains exactly how the universe works, right down to the last upwards-spinning quark. Because, in all truth, formulas work. Formulas are useful. Calling something fomulaic is a way of complimenting its cold efficiency at doing, frighteningly well, what it was designed to do.

My Vitriol have a formula, too -- though perhaps it would be more apropos to call it a recipe -- and it works flawlessly for 16 tracks and 48 minutes because, unlike so many others, My Vitriol take influences like Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, and shoegazing in general, and synthesize them into something that puts those influences on prominent display, yet which is completely their own. This is what sets them apart from the pack.

They're a little bit Nirvana in the sharp sense of hard-rocking melody on tracks like "Cemented Shoes," a little bit Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins with the chaotic tangle of interwoven lead guitar, and a little bit Catherine Wheel with Som Wardner's approaching-ethereal singing style. Not to mention the generous reverb splashed onto these songs, which is where all the "shoegazer" comparisons likely stem from. Still, if "Loveless" cost My Bloody Valentine half a million dollars to produce, My Vitriol's sound here is worth a million bucks.

Beginning with the embryonic, instrumental "Alpha Waves," which is really just a warm-up for the furious "Always: Your Way" and its many peaks and valleys, "Finelines" never fails to deliver anything less than incredible in its 48 minutes. Hightlights include the dynamics-laden "Infantile," the truly brilliant instrumental "Tongue Tied," which manages to very subtly reference pieces of "Always: Your Way," and perhaps the loudest moment on the record (aside from the not-so-subtle jab of "C.O.R. (Critic-Oriented Rock)"), "Losing Touch," which still manages to mutate throughout the course of its three minutes with the same impeccable melodicism as every track here.

On the aforementioned technical side of things, the remixing the album received for release stateside shines on tracks like "Losing Touch" where the most important elements are emphasized cleanly and crisply for the benefit of anyone within listening range.

I've been listening to this album for three years and its still constantly near the top of my list when in doubt. Simply put, "Finelines" is a fridge full of just desserts. If you have any sense, you will love this album to death-from-overconsumption.

My Vitriol fans should also enjoy records from A Perfect Circle ("Mer de Noms"), the Deftones ("White Pony"), and Year of the Rabbit, all of which contain parallels to My Vitriol's polished, sculpted guitar lines and ingenious songwriting on "Finelines."

Also check out their B-sides collection, "Between the Lines," which (as any devoted fan of any band would tell you) is better than 90% of other bands' A-side material.

Brit pop this ain't. And I don't agree with the characterization made in one of the earlier posts that this is yet another hard rock LP. Though not the pinnacle of originality, this is a fantastic record reminiscent of Cathrine Wheel of the '90s and more recently the Doves. Production-wise, it is miles above most of its counterparts - big, expansive, shiver-down-my-spine generating rock. The melodies will stay with you for days and the vocals will haunt you. There is hardly a bad track on this LP. The fact that My Vitriol hasn't yet attained the notoriety of some of its peer bands is beyond me. Buy this album today - you won't put it down for months.

My Vitriol is the best new thing to come out of Britain and it's no wonder why. They are the best new band of the new millenium and their future looks very bright.

They dominate the airwaves in the UK, and they are sure to blow up the charts here in the states just as soon as they get some more exposure. And, with power-pop shoegazing music like theirs, the wait for American dominance is surely nearing its end.

A cross between the Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Everclear, yet with an original sound that is all their own. Check out "Always Your Way," "Gentle Art of Choking," "Cemented Shoes," "Grounded," "Infantile," and "Ode to the Red Queen." This CD is not just one or two hits strung together with filler songs and the the ones I mentioned are just the best of what is on here, but the entire album seriously rocks.

Oh, and by the way, when you listen to the CD keep reminding yourself this is their debut... can't wait for round two.

Been listening to this on repeat for 3 days now. Shoegazey and dreamy sounds that are crafted into really solid pop songs. Reminds me of Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins (Siamese Dream era), Slowdive, Catherine Wheel, Ride, etc. Really, i'm overjoyed that there is a band around that sounds like this. Makes me feel like a little less of a dinosaur.

I bought this CD a couple years ago when it came out and I STILL listen to it all the time. This band has emotion coming out its collective ears and combined with their uber strong sense of melody & dynamics, you have the makings of a killer record. But somehow it is more than that - the songs ebb & flow into one another, from an enraged diatribe into a reflective ballad, to a ridiculously good instrumental. I've heard comparisons to Catherine Wheel and I can see that...though this is darker than most Catherine Wheel stuff. Seriously, stop reading, stop thinking - just buy this. Buy it now.

I love this disc. Having a pernicious addiction to the edgy, dreamy music of MBV, with only Loveless to quell the withdrawl -- up till now -- I am at last saved by Finelines, nevermore to shake and sweat. I was first impressed by the keen pop sensibilities of this new British band. They have reaped the harvest of their Brit pop predecessors and have amalgamated the shoegazy styles of groups like Ride with tunecraft that rivals more conventional songwriters.

In short, this disc is everything that alternative rock should have been for the last 8 years. With immense lyrical skill, fantastic musical talent, and solid songwriting, this is one of the albums that will usher in a well needed change in popular music. They have been compared favorably to the Foo Fighters, but their sound is beyond comparison. If you cringe at the thought of another Limp Bizkit album, and groups like Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd make your head spin, buy this CD. You'll be glad you did. Every song is fantastic.

Where was I when this group came out? I've been waiting for a sound like this for a LONG time. The songs are very well balanced (not so complex that they sound like a prog rock band, but definitely not simple or juvenile). The songs are addictive! They're filled with catchy lyrics and the whole album drives hard all the way until the end. I can't stop listening to it. This band is LOADED with talent and I can't wait to hear more from them. Buy this album. It would be worth it even if it cost $50. Having a hot female bassist doesn't hurt things either, does it?

Finelines is a highly emotional, ethereal yet violent, burst of artistic creativity. Don't trust the official Amazon review, which says that Finelines is basically a "pretty good debut album". Honestly, My Vitriol have created songs and harmonies that are extremely innovative and pleasuring. If you're sick of always hearing music that sounds the same, get this album right now! To explain what I mean by "innovative harmonies", maybe think of The Mars Volta. Although My Vitriol definitely sounds more like My Bloody Valentine (only much, much better!)

England kept releasing bands who all sounded like Radiohead. My Vitriol is the spawn of smashing pumpkins latest/ underrated album Machina: the machines of god. My vitriol has the talent to create some of the greatest songs in the world and unfortunatly not many will want to listen because they have to listen to garbage records from ludacris and eminem.