Initially consisting of a duo, My Vitriol released their debut EP Delusions of Grandeur (1998), before expanding to a four-piece.

Described as an alternative rock album, Finelines was compared to acts such as the Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, and Foo Fighters.

In the following months, songs from the demo appeared on various artists compilations, and received airplay in Asia, Europe and the UK.

[6][7] Two weeks after the single's release, the band received attention from the music press, airplay on BBC Radio 1, and sold-out shows.

[10] Musically, the sound of Finelines has been described as alternative rock, with comparison to Foo Fighters, My Bloody Valentine, and the Smashing Pumpkins.

[18][4] The single included "Tongue Tied", and a live cover of the Eugenius song "Breakfast" as extra tracks.

[31] The following month, the band supported Ash on their European tour; My Vitriol played various festivals across Europe and Japan between June and August.

[23] In mid-July, the band announced they had signed to Epic Records in the United States; Finelines was remixed for release in that territory.

[36][37] A week after the tour's conclusion, the remixed version of Finelines was released alongside Between the Lines, a compilation of B-sides, demos and acoustic recordings, in that territory.

"[16] Entertainment Weekly senior writer Dan Snierson said the band delivered "a compelling collage of urgent and moody alt-rock ... put[ting] their own stomp on the swerving layered-guitar formulas", by the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine.

[11] Ox-Fanzine's Joachim Hiller found it to be "surprisingly wavy and gloomy, but at the same time has that driving guitar sound that I find on the whole homestead I appreciated [in] bands".

said the band merged "the two past movements [of grunge and shoegaze] in a perfect way to create their own brand of guitar rock."

[12] Dotmusic writer Nichola Browne said the album was full of "deliciously raucous songs, dripping in bittersweet lyrics that'll smart your throat every time you try to sing along.

"[42] AllMusic reviewer Dean Carlson called the band "elastic and kaleidoscopic as they take their particular screeching rock choruses to something distinctly American."

He added, it was the type of debut release that "lurches into the grungy excess befitting trashcan fires, [and] anachronistic outsider idolization".

[39] The Guardian arts writer Caroline Sullivan said the songs "tread a catchy path delineated by imploring vocals and shiny choruses".

[41] Lee Ward of Playlouder said it "may well be too long and it might stick to its [Nirvana and My Bloody Valentine] blueprint a little too faithfully, but singularity of vision can hardly be criticised on a debut record.