My Vitriol



My Vitriol is a British alternative rock band consisting of Som Wardner (vocals, guitar and lyrics), Ravi Kesavaram (drums), Seth Taylor (guitar) and Laura Claire (bass), responsible for the Shoegazing resurgence of the 2000s. The band was formed in 1999 and enjoyed play on alternative and indie radio stations throughout the UK until 2001 when they landed a better recording deal.

In 2001 they released Finelines, their one and only full-length album. It met critical acclaim and showed My Vitriol as a possible contender for "Voice of a generation". Many critics and fans expected them to be propelled into a status enjoyed only by bands such as Nirvana and Radiohead. It seemed like My Vitriol had a promising career ahead of them.

Except it didn't quite turn out that way...

After their moderate UK success, they aimed for success in the United States. Anybody who knows anything about popular music history knows that in the beginning of the 2000s is just about the time real adventurous alternative music was getting zero commercial support from record companies. With the exception of the heavy-weights that made a name for themselves in the 90s, if you weren't following some type of cookie-cutter Post-Grunge or Coldplay rip-off record companies would do nothing to promote your album. So Finelines had a massive shipment to the US and it sold poorly. To make matters worse, Executive Meddling pushed for the album to be re-issued with a second disc with outtakes and B-sides, thus wasting more of the band's money.

My Vitriol, frustrated with the exhausting touring efforts to try to promote their album as best as they can, went on a hiatus that lasted 4 years. They got back together and did a tour opening for the Foo Fighters and then went back into the recording studio. They had their fanbase release a live album titled Cast In Ambers that featured a 6-minute sample of the songs that were to appear on the next album. Fan opinion was lukewarm, except for about 4 of the tracks. With the exception of those 4 tracks (which were to appear on an EP titled A Pyhrric Victory) they scrapped the album. What also didn't help was the fact that only about 7 tracks were even recorded in the first place.

Since then, the follow-up to Finelines has been in Development Hell. The band are still fondly remembered, but thanks to the huge wave of new Shoegazing artists they're lack of activity has made them somewhat of a footnote in Alternative Rock history. Strangely enough, their story marks similarities to My Bloody Valentine (namely the sparking of an interest in effects-based experimentation and the long wait since their Magnum Opus). My Vitriol are notable for taking Shoegazing's sound and giving it a modern, more melodic edge. Definitely Needs More Love.

My Vitriol contains examples of the following tropes:
 * Album Filler- Finelines has a few short instrumental tracks that serve no other purpose than filler.
 * The Cover Changes the Gender -- They have a cover version of Madonna's "Oh Father" and the feel is much different with a male singer.
 * Development Hell- The follow-up to Finelines has left fans waiting over 10 years.
 * Epic Rocking- "Tongue Tied" is their longest song to date, clocking in at almost 6 minutes.
 * Executive Meddling- The reason why Finelines faced no success in the US.
 * Fading Into the Next Song- "Alpha Waves" fades into "Always: Your Way" on Finelines.
 * Subverted on their live album. Live albums are usually known for being continuous, having all their tracks fade into each other, to make it feel more like an actual concert. Cast In Amber, however, has an audio gap in between the tracks.
 * Keep Circulating the Tapes- The Channel 4 documentary about their follow up only aired once and saw a handful of physical copies. Ten minutes of it is available on YouTube, but said ten minutes don't explain much. It's nearly impossible to find the full thing in it's entirety. Rumor has it was never seen again in it's entirety because it contains footage that portrays the record company in a negative light.
 * Narm- Not all of their music, but some of their lesser quality songs are very Narmy. Especially the Madonna cover.
 * One-Hit Wonder- In the UK "Always: Your Way".
 * Take That- "C.O.R." stands for Critic Oriented Rock. The track just heavy pounding guitars and Som Warder screaming into the microphone for 40 seconds. It's like a giant middle finger to critics.
 * What Could Have Been- A shoegaze band in position as a "voice of a generation"? You can't deny that would have been awesome.
 * Some people blame the rise of Garage Rock revivalism for why My Vitriol didn't get as famous as they could have been, while others like to blame Post-Grunge.