“Epic, beautiful, psychedelic pop music with a headfull
of dreams and a heart cast in heavy metal.”
Evening Standard
1977 - 1998
Som
Wardner was born in Sri Lanka in the late 1970’s and moved to England
when he was ten, growing up listening to "everything from Sri Lankan classical
music to The Beatles, but I latched onto the Beatles mostly". Som
met drummer Ravi Kesavaram at college in London in August 1998, and together
they recorded the first My Vitriol demo (the ironically named 'Delusions
of Grandeur') with Ravi drumming and Som playing everything else.
A tape copy of ‘Delusions Of Grandeur’ found it’sway into
Steve Lamacq’s hands and a few days later he was playing iton the Evening
Session. Whilst Som and Ravi pursued their studies, A & R interest
was steadily accumulating.
1999
“A kaleidoscopic whirl of tunes,
feedback and true grit.” NME
“My Vitriol sound so undeniably
and unstoppably bound for stratospheric stardom that it’s virtually
a foregone conclusion.” Kerrang
1999 saw
Seth Taylor and Carolyn Bannister joining My Vitriol on guitar and bass.
Som had met former Mint 400 guitarist Seth at their final gig, and
college-mate Carolyn completed the line-up as bass player.
My Vitriol’s first recording as a whole band, ‘Always Your Way’/’Pieces’,
was released through Org records as a mail order only limited edition of
800 in December ‘99. The record made an instant impact
despite its limited availability, as it was voted Single Of The Week and
Single Of The Month in a number of magazines and was played all over Radio
One for a month. "A timely reminder of how poignant and powerful debut singles
can be," said Steve Lamacq.
2000
“Among the most compulsiverock
bands this country has produced.” NME
“Already one of the most talked-about
bands of the new century.” The Times
The band signed a record deal with Infectious Records in Christmas
week 1999, and went straight into the studio in the New Year. A first-on
slot at the NME Awards shows (only the band’s tenth gig
- "Here’sthe deep end, now swim." Said Som at the time) was
followed by a buzz tourof the UK (alongside Cay and Crashland) in March.
Their first properly releasedsingle, ‘Losing Touch’ ("With its
crashing guitars My Vitriolare set to be huge." Daily Telegraph), came out
in April.
Subsequent touring dovetailed into festival appearances at
Glastonbury, T In The Park (where they attracted one of the biggest crowds
on their stage all day) and Reading and Leeds, where the band had the
usually daunting taskof being first-on the main stage. At both sites
their fears were quashedwhen they took the stage at midday to be greeted
by fields near packed tocapacity.
A second single ‘Cemented Shoes’("dreamy guitar
hooks and clever vocal nuances usher the song into balladterritory, only
for it to speed up with all the mad defiance of a car goingthe wrong way
up the motorway", The Guardian) coincided with My Vitriol’sfirst headlining
tour of the UK.
Despite a full summer of festival slots, the band managed to start work on
their first album, 'Finelines’. Produced by Som and Chris Sheldon,
it was recorded in Great Linford Manor and was completed in the autumn.
My Vitriol’s third single of 2000, ‘Pieces’ ("its impassioned,
bittersweet lyrics capable of making the most hardened of hearts melt" -
Kerrang) was released at the end of October, while the band headlined
another UK tour and then supported Mansun. Both ‘Pieces’
and ‘Cemented Shoes’ were playlisted on Radio One.
2001
‘Muscular and melodic.’
Observer
“Nothing less than stadiumindie
rock, all huge swathes of molten guitars and dazed-and-confused vocals.”
Mojo
2001:
Another massive year in the life of My Vitriol. In February, a reworked
version of ‘Always: Your Way' became the band’s first top 30
hit, affording them their first Top Of The Pops appearance. It preceded
the release of ‘Finelines’ in March.
Q reckoned it “Utterly life-affirming. ‘Finelines’ is this
season’s must-have accessory”, while The Times said, “’Finelines’
blends dreamy noise and metal riffs with truly edifying results”. Kerrang
summed it up best: “an album of astonishing depth and maturity.”
More touring accompanied these releases, including two rammed-to-the-rafters
shows at the University Of London Union.
Europe beckoned, and My Vitriol took to the road supporting Ash. ‘Grounded’
became the band’s sixth single in 18 months. Notably, the video
for ‘Grounded’ was shot in foot and mouth-riddled countryside
and featured US alternative film director/songwriter Vincent Gallo.
It was the band’s first single to be released also on DVD.
The summer took in numerous festival appearances around the world, including
sublime sets at Reading and Leeds once more.
My Vitriol also signed their American record deal with Epic Records; they
plan to tour the US in early 2002 to coincide with the Stateside release.
My Vitriol will tour Europe with Placebo in October, returning to the UK
for two shows at Brixton Academy and then commencing their own headlining
shows around the country.
“I’m not quite sure where
I was when My Vitriol became the best new rock band in Britain, but catching
up with them is proving to be an exhilarating experience.”
Kerrang
For more information:
Julian Carrera, Terri Hall, Mike Watson, Hall Or Nothing 020
8740 6288
julian@hallornothing.com / www.hallornothing.com