''Finelines'' is the debut studio album by the British
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
My Vitriol
My Vitriol are a British alternative rock band, formed in 1999 in London. The band currently comprises singer and guitarist Som Wardner, drummer Ravi Kesavaram, guitarist Seth Taylor and bassist Tatia Starkey. The band had success with their de ...
. It was released on 5 March 2001 through
Infectious Records
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...
. Initially consisting of a duo, My Vitriol released their debut EP ''Delusions of Grandeur'' (1998), before expanding to a four-piece. They signed to Infectious Records in December 1999, and began recording their debut album at
Linford Manor in
Milton Keynes, with
Chris Sheldon
Chris Sheldon (born 25 September 1962) is an English record producer, particularly of rock music based in London, England. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Big Country, Feeder, Therapy?, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize, Pix ...
, and frontman Som Wardner co-producing. Described as an
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
album, ''Finelines'' was compared to acts such as
the Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
,
My Bloody Valentine, and
Foo Fighters.
Between early 2000 and early 2001, My Vitriol released four
singles – "Losing Touch", "Cemented Shoes", "Pieces", and "Always: Your Way" – prior to the release of ''Finelines''. Fifth single "Grounded" appeared in May 2001, which was followed by support slots for the likes of
Feeder,
Ash, and
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general, placebos can af ...
. My Vitriol went on a headlining tour of the United Kingdom at the end of 2001, and followed it with a series of shows in the United States in early 2002. A remixed version of the album was released in July 2002, combined with the
B-sides compilation ''Between the Lines''.
''Finelines'' received generally positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, some of whom commented on the guitarwork. ''Finelines'' reached number 24 in the UK album charts, while all of its singles charted on the UK singles chart.
Background and production
Vocalist/guitarist Som Wardner, formerly of Shock Syndrome, formed My Vitriol when he met drummer Ravi Kesavaram.
The pair lived in the residence while attending college. A friend of their, who was studying as an engineer, suggested recording the duo as a project. The result was released as their debut EP ''Delusions of Grandeur'' (1998). One copy of the EP was given to BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
DJ Steve Lamacq
Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music.
Early life
He attended The Ramsey Academ ...
, who subsequently aired one of the tracks. In the following months, songs from the demo appeared on various artists compilations, and received airplay in Asia, Europe and the UK. Progress with the band was halted due to the duo needing to finish their exams at college.
Following this, guitarist Seth Taylor and bassist Carolyn Bannister were recruited. Wardner met Bannister at college, and came across Taylor when he was playing a farewell show with his band Mint 400. My Vitriol released the double A-side single of "Always Your Way" and "Pieces" in December 1999, through Org Records. Two weeks after the single's release, the band received attention from the music press, airplay on BBC Radio 1, and sold-out shows. Despite only playing 7 shows thus far, My Vitriol signed a record deal with Infectious Records
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...
in late December.[
My Vitriol recorded their debut album at Linford Manor. ]Chris Sheldon
Chris Sheldon (born 25 September 1962) is an English record producer, particularly of rock music based in London, England. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Big Country, Feeder, Therapy?, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize, Pix ...
and Wardner co-produced all of the recordings, with the exception of "Kohlstream", "Ode to the Red Queen", and "Windows & Walls", which were produced solely by Wardner. Sheldon acted as the engineer for all of the songs, except for "Kohlstream", "Ode to the Red Queen", and "Windows & Walls", which were engineered by Toby Bush. Bush recorded the vocals for "The Gentle Art of Choking", and Dave Buchanan recorded the vocals for "Under the Wheels". Sheldon mixed all of the recordings, except for "Kohlstream", "Windows & Walls", and "Under the Wheels", which were co-mixed with Wardner.[
]
Composition and lyrics
Musically, the sound of ''Finelines'' has been described as alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
, with comparison to Foo Fighters, My Bloody Valentine, and the Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
.[ Wardner's lyrics were reminiscent of the words of the Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.][ The album opens with "Alpha Waves", a two-minute instrumental track that was described as a jet engine taking off.][ "Always: Your Way" recalled the Foo Fighters' "]This Is a Call
"This Is a Call" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters, released as the lead single from the band's 1995 self-titled debut album. Released in 1995, it is one of many songs Dave Grohl wrote and performed on the album when Foo Fighters was a ...
" (1995). The intro to "The Gentle Art of Choking" recalled Ash. "Cemented Shoes" evokes the sound of '' Beaster'' (1993)-era Sugar.[ "Grounded" is a 1970s-esuqe ]power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...
song, which followed by "C.O.R. (Critic-Oriented-Rock)", a 38-second-long trach that sees Wardner screaming over nu metal guitarwork. "Tongue Tied" starts off slow, before speeding up and becoming heavier. "Losing Touch" comes across as a mix of Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general, placebos can af ...
, Sugar, and grunge, and is followed by the ballad "Pieces".[
]
Release
In March and April 2000, My Vitriol toured with Dark Star, Cay
A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...
, and the Crocketts, leading up to the release of the single "Losing Touch" on 17 April.[ The single included "Tongue Tied", and a live cover of the Eugenius song "Breakfast" as extra tracks. In July, the band played with Wilt and ]A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ...
, leading up to the single release of "Cemented Shoes" on 10 July.[ The single included "All of Me", and a cover of the Wipers song "Wait a Minute" as extra tracks. The following month, the band appeared at the ]Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...
, and supported Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
for a one-off show. In early October, the band toured with King Adora
King Adora was a rock group formed in Birmingham, England in 1998. The band released debut album '' Vibrate You'' in May 2001 (charting at No. 30 on the UK Albums Chart) and follow-up '' Who Do You Love?'' in March 2004. The band was notabl ...
and Crackout, which was followed by a tour later in the month with Mansun
Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone.
It was announced ...
and King Adora, lasting until early November.[
To coincide with the latter tour, "Pieces" was released as a single on 30 October. Two versions were released on CD: one with a cover of the ]Jawbox
Jawbox is an American alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album '' Grippe'' in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) joi ...
song "Static", and "Safety Zones & Crumple Zones", and the other with "Another Lie", and a live version of "Cemented Shoes". For the rest of November, the band toured with Vast
Vast or VAST may refer to:
* ''Vast'' (novel), a 1998 science fiction novel by Linda Nagata
* ''Vast'' (2011 film), a Dutch film, winner of the 2011 Golden Calf for Best Television Drama
* Vast Broadband, an American cable and internet compan ...
.[ In February 2001, the band toured the UK with Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi, and Thirteen:13.] Partway through the stint, "Always: Your Way" was released as a single on 12 February. Two versions were released on CD: one with a cover of the Guided By Voices song "Game of Pricks", and "Spotlights, and the other with "It Came Crashing", and an acoustic version of "Losing Touch".
''Finelines'' was released on 5 March 2001. "Grounded" was released as the fifth single on 2 April 2001. Two versions were released on CD: one with a cover of the Madonna song " Oh Father" (1989), and an acoustic version of "Always: Your Way", and the other with "Deadlines", and a piano version of "Windows & Walls". The music video for the song premiered on ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' website. The release coincides with the band's support slot for Feeder's UK tour later in the month. The following month, the band supported Ash on their European tour; My Vitriol played various festivals across Europe and Japan between June and August.[
In mid-July, the band announced they had signed to Epic Records in the United States; ''Finelines'' was remixed for release in that territory. In October, the band embarked on a supporting UK tour for Placebo, which was then followed by a headlining UK tour that lasted until early November, with support from Seafood and ]Queenadreena
Queenadreena was an British rock music, English alternative rock band that formed in London, England in 1999 by vocalist KatieJane Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray, who had previously collaborated in the celebrated but short-lived band Daisy ...
.[ On the headlining tour, the band gave away copies of a 7" vinyl single of "Vapour Trails". In March 2002, the band played a handful of shows in the US.] In July 2002, the band went on another UK tour, with support from Halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
, and Wilt. A week after the tour's conclusion, the remixed version of ''Finelines'' was released alongside ''Between the Lines'', a compilation of B-sides, demos and acoustic recordings, in that territory.
Reception
''Finelines'' was met with generally positive reviews from music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. At Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the album received an average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 74, based on 9 reviews.[
'' Drowned in Sound'' staff member Pamela Leader noted that while My Vitriol earned comparisons to the likes of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, she felt they had "an original sound and style of their own ... I think you'll be able to recognise a My Vitriol song, not only by the style of music, but by the sound and charisma of Som Wardner's voice."] ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' senior writer Dan Snierson said the band delivered "a compelling collage of urgent and moody alt-rock ... puting
Ing, ING or ing may refer to:
Art and media
* '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film
* i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group
* The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes''
* "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...
their own stomp on the swerving layered-guitar formulas", by the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine.[ '']Ox-Fanzine
''Ox-Fanzine'' is a monthly punk zine from Solingen, Germany, founded in 1988. It is edited by Joachim Hiller and has had many contributors. Besides its focus on punk subculture, it also covers similar genres, reviews of comics, books and films, ...
'' Joachim Hiller found it to be "surprisingly wavy and gloomy, but at the same time has that driving guitar sound that I find on the whole homestead I appreciated nbands".[
Cam Lindsay of '' Exclaim!'' said the band merged "the two past movements f grunge and shoegazein a perfect way to create their own brand of guitar rock." He added, " course, most of it sounds like Nirvana meets Ride, but it could be worse".][ '']Dotmusic
''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...
'' writer Nichola Browne said the album was full of "deliciously raucous songs, dripping in bittersweet lyrics that'll smart your throat every time you try to sing along."[ '']NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' Mark Beaumont wrote that the album had "guitars soaring like hang-gliders, vocals whining like the distant slaughter of pigs, nddrums plodding like Ann Widdecombe on a donkey ride."[
]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
reviewer Dean Carlson called the band "elastic and kaleidoscopic as they take their particular screeching rock choruses to something distinctly American." He added, it was the type of debut release that "lurches into the grungy excess befitting trashcan fires, ndanachronistic outsider idolization".[ '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' arts writer Caroline Sullivan said the songs "tread a catchy path delineated by imploring vocals and shiny choruses".[ Lee Ward of ]Playlouder
Playlouder was a digital music and media company. providing news, reviews, and other music-related content. It also claimed to be the world's first music service provider— an Internet service provider bundling access to music content along with ...
said it "may well be too long and it might stick to its irvana and My Bloody Valentineblueprint a little too faithfully, but singularity of vision can hardly be criticised on a debut record."[ No Ripcord's David Coleman referred to it as "one of the most disappointing debut albums I've ever heard."][
''Finelines'' reached number 24 in the UK album charts, while the remixed version, with ''Between the Lines'', peaked at number 96. "Losing Touch" charted at number 91 in the UK. "Cemented Shoes" charted at number 65 in the UK. "Pieces" charted at number 56 in the UK. "Always: Your Way" charted at number 31 in the UK. "Grounded" charted at number 29 in the UK.][
]
Track listing
All songs written by Som Wardner.[
]
Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
My Vitriol
* Som Wardner – vocals, guitar, piano
* Ravi Kesavaram – drums
* Seth Taylor – guitar
* Carolyn Bannister – bass
Production
* Chris Sheldon
Chris Sheldon (born 25 September 1962) is an English record producer, particularly of rock music based in London, England. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Big Country, Feeder, Therapy?, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize, Pix ...
– producer (all except tracks 4, 9 and 11), engineer (all except tracks 4, 9 and 11), mixing
* Som Wardner – producer, mixing (tracks 4, 11 and 16)
* Toby Bush – vocal recording (track 3), engineer (tracks 4, 9 and 11)
* Dave Buchanan – vocal recording (track 16)
* Kevin Westenberg – photography
* Craig Gentle – design, additional photography
* My Vitriol – design, additional photography
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2001 debut albums
My Vitriol albums
Epic Records albums
Infectious Records albums
Albums produced by Chris Sheldon