Way back in the dim, distant past (well, April) My Vitriol appeared here at the Pyramids Centre as a support band for Feeder. Now, much as Feeder are an okay live band (they make quite a bit of noise for a mere three-piece), My Vitriol put them to shame with a solid and complex performance of "melodic post-grunge" (as I've just decided I shall term their music).

Seven months later they're back, in a well-earned headline slot.  The band already impressed me enough in February at the Wedgewood Rooms for me to buy this year's debut 'Finelines' album (recorded and performed entirely by frontman Som Warner with producer Chris Sheldon).

This is the fourth time I've caught My Vitriol live (the finest being at Reading 2001), but things don't run smoothly early in the set.  Some unknown technical problems caused guitarist Seth Taylor to storm off in a strop after half a dozen tunes, closely followed by the rest of the band.

After a couple of minutes frantic work by the roadies, the band are back, and continue their set of tuneful noise.  What places My Vitriol above their peers is Som Warner's clever use of key changes and chord progressions to support the weight of his soaring melodies.  I don't think many people recognized their version of Madonna's 'Oh Father' when they played it - in theory it shouldn't have worked, but it did surprisingly well!

I had hoped for some new material this time, but considering the album only came out in March, this wasn't really to be expected.  I was consoled with two instrumentals I'd not heard before (the first of which opened the set, and sounded pretty darn impressive, it must be said).  One endearing thing about My Vitriol is that I find myself liking the instrumentals as much as the songs (album opener 'Alpha Waves' always sounds colossal when played live, and 'Tongue Tied' is my friend's favourite Som Warner track - which ends tonight's set along with a brief blast of 'Critic Orientated Rock').

Technical glitches aside, a pretty good show, although I've seen them play more confidently in the past.  I think the interruption unnerved them a little, but they recovered by the end of the night.  Nice rude Andrew WK dedication/put-down by Som Warner too!

Review: Andrew Morrison