My Vitriol - 1999 demos

It's been an excruciating, Chinese Democracy-length wait for the second proper My Vitriol album to surface. A brilliant co-ed London quartet formed in the late '90s. My Vitriol's amped-out swath of concussive but deliriously melodic, feedback-addled guitar rock birthed a hell of a debut album in 2001, Finelines (for comparisons sake, think early Swervedriver, or some of the unrulier moments on Nirvana's Nevermind like "Breed" and "Territorial Pissings," only with an extra dollop of saccharine). Finelines was a moderate success in the UK (plus the band's ferocious live reputation certainly didn't hurt) but a US release in 2002 fell on utterly deaf ears and invariably landed in used bins. For shame, because the album completely fulfilled the promise of these nascent demos. Represented here are about half the tracks that would eventually be rerecorded for the album, a couple b-sides-to-be, as well as a handful of tunes exclusive to these recordings.

Technically, there have been a couple of "new" My Vitriol cds to hit shelves in the past few years, namely the Cast in Amber live disk, and an even more recent ep of new material, 2007's A Pyrrhic Victory. The band continues to perform in the UK, but no definitive word on a new album. I know it'll be tempting for you to dive into your local 99 cent bin for a mint, unplayed promo of Finelines, but try to locate the deluxe double-cd edition, featuring a bonus disk of b-sides and outtakes (Between the Lines), housing some searing covers of classics by The Wipers, Guided By Voices and Jawbox.

01. Always Your Way
02. Grounded
03. Infantile
04. Another Lie
05. Melodramatic
06. Losing Touch
07. Cemented Shoes
08. Tongue Tied
09. Parade
10. All of Me
11. By the Water
12. Forever
13. Another Lie (version)
14. Grounded (version)

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