My Vitriol

In 1998 the U.K. quartet My Vitriol took shape after Sri Lankan-born singer/songwriter Som Wardner crossed paths with drummer Ravi Kesavaram at a London college. Taking its name from a character in Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, the still-unsigned band quickly assembled the demo EP Delusions of Grandeur; Radio 1 soon picked it up, triggering early press coverage. Work halted until coursework was finished, at which point the lineup was completed when guitarist Seth Taylor and bassist Carolyn Bannister joined. Infectious Records offered a contract in late 1999, and 2000 brought a demanding run of live dates that encompassed headline slots at Glastonbury and Reading. The band’s melodic, guitar-driven debut album Finelines appeared in March 2001 to widespread praise, the influential NME calling it “already one of the albums of 2001.”