Another reviewer debated recently whether Vex Red are the new My Vitriol. Rock fans on internet messageboards shared mumblings of "Where are they now?" MV, it would seem, were tucked away in a studio somewhere polishing this, their first single in over a year. Well-spent time?

It would seem so. It's a maturer, and dare I say it, more joyous direction for the band who originally emerged armed to the teeth with shiny, razor-sharp, bitter pop scimitars. A looped, scuzzy reverse-play intro gives way to the more echoey, glossy sound that they've made their own, with chiming, foggy guitars that first awaken thoughts of My Bloody Valentine before drifting into melodies that, despite lyrics like "you're breaking down inside", sound irrepressibly, richly joyous and uplifting. The raw-edged, rusty-hacksaw riffs are soothed and placated by a dreamy, glowing chorus, until the riffs wrestle the song back into the realms of brutal, dirty rawwwk. For the seasoned MV fan it's "Under the Wheels" with a monstrous effects pedal and a crate of Jaegermeïster; for those less familiar with MV, it's the sound of a band whose daily existence is a battle between their blissed-out, trippy side and their desire to rock with the best of them. It's also proof positive that My Vitriol have unfinished business with the rest of the world. Vex Red will have to wait...