Whirr
Whirr in 2014
Background information
Also known asWhirl
OriginModesto, California, United States
Genres
Years active2010 (2010)–present
Labels
Spinoffs
Members
  • Nick Bassett
  • Joseph Bautista
  • Devin Nunes
  • Loren Rivera
  • Eddie Salgado
Past members
Websitefreewhirlrecords.com

Whirr is a shoegaze band from Modesto, California. The group formed in 2010, originally as Whirl, but had to legally change its name after a woman performing acoustic covers of Black Sabbath songs trademarked the name and threatened a lawsuit.[1] Whirr's shoegaze sound is often compared to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.[1][2] Founding guitarist Nick Bassett also played in the band Deafheaven surrounding and including the release of their 2011 album Roads to Judah.[1][2]

History

Whirr self-released a demo cassette and the EP Distressor before signing to Tee Pee Records in 2011. The band released June that year, followed by their 2012 debut album, Pipe Dreams. The latter was met with a generally positive reception from music critics.[3][4][5]

Whirr released the Around EP on July 9, 2013, and toured to support it that August with the band Nothing.[6][7] As a result of touring together, members of Nothing and Whirr formed a side project called Death of Lovers,[8] and Whirr and Nothing released a split EP. Bassett then joined Nothing on bass and toured with them.[9] Bassett also started a new indie pop project with former Whirr vocalist Alexandra Morte called Camera Shy,[10] while guitarist Joseph Bautista joined Best Coast as a touring member.

On September 23, 2014, Whirr released their second studio album, Sway, on Graveface Records.[11]

On October 25, 2019, Time Well Recordings announced that Whirr would be releasing their third studio album, Feels Like You.[12] Initially intended as a vinyl only release, the album was made available through the band's website as a limited pressing of 650 copies which sold out within the first day. Following this, the album was leaked online and the band opted to do an official digital release made available on Bandcamp.[13]

On February 14, 2023, Whirr announced the release of a live album – titled Live In Los Angeles. Orders of the album came with two new songs recorded in January 2023 at Earth Analog Studios Muta and Blue Sugar.[14]

Controversies

Whirr became notorious for being inflammatory toward its own fans on social media, an action that the band described in a 2014 interview as "weeding out the pussies".[15][16] After Pitchfork writer Ian Cohen gave Bassett's other band Nothing a mixed review, the band wrote on Facebook, "Ian Cohen is still a retarded pussy and pitchfork still don't know what they're talking about".[17] A fan-created Tumblr page documented Whirr's instances of insulting its fans. When given an offer to apologize, Bassett refused and said that if Whirr alienated its entire fanbase, he would "be stoked that we didn't suck anyone's dick as a band and were just real dudes being real."[16]

On October 19, 2015, a series of derogatory remarks towards the Washington-based hardcore punk band G.L.O.S.S. were posted on Whirr's Twitter account, including one that read: "[G.L.O.S.S. is] just a bunch of boys running around in panties making shitty music".[18] The transphobic nature of these tweets resulted in a backlash on social media; Graveface, who released the band's Sway, and Run for Cover Records, who released three of their EPs, severed ties with the band.[15] Bassett admitted to posting the first tweet toward G.L.O.S.S. (which read: "Lol @ G.L.O.S.S."[18]), in response to hearing a rumor that the band was only permitting certain types of people to attend their shows and buy their merchandise.[19] According to Bassett, the remaining tweets were posted by a friend of the band and did not reflect the views of band members.[19] Whirr posted a public apology to their Twitter account the following morning and claimed to have severed ties with the person responsible for the offensive tweets.[20]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

  • Live in Los Angeles (2023, self-released)

EPs

  • Demo (2010, self-released)
  • Distressor (2011, self-released)
  • Part Time Punks Sessions (2012, Run for Cover)
  • Around (2013, Graveface)

Singles

  • June (2011, Tee Pee)
  • Muta / Blue Sugar (2023, self-released)

Split releases

Compilation appearances

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gagnon, Sarah (April 4, 2012). "Local shoegaze band Whirr releases debut LP, Pipe Dreams". The Bay Bridged. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Thomas, Fred. "Whirr – Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  3. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Review: Pipe Dreams". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  4. ↑ Douglas, Martin (March 20, 2012). "Review: Pipe Dreams". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  5. ↑ Shultz, Brian (March 29, 2012). "Review: Pipe Dreams". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  6. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (June 19, 2013). "Whirr releasing a new mini-LP, announce tour (dates, stream)". Brooklyn Vegan. Spin Media. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ Paul, Aubin (June 19, 2013). "Tours: Whirr / Nothing". Punknews.org. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ McGovern, Kyle (October 22, 2013). "Watch Death of Lovers' Eerie 'Buried Under A World of Roses' Video". Spin. Spin Media. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ Gelb, Daniel (February 26, 2014). "Philly's own Nothing is really something". Philadelphia Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ Chandler, Kyle (May 22, 2014). "Alexandra Morte leaves whirr, forms camera shy". Soft Concrete. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ Cimarusti, Luca (July 11, 2014). "12 O'Clock Track: 'Mumble' is the return of shoegaze revivalists Whirr". Chicago Reader. Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Time Well Recordings on Instagram: "Now available for preorder at www.freewhirl.com 🌀 . . . Recorded at @timewellrecordings . . 🎞: @documavision"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  13. ↑ "Feels Like You, by Whirr". Whirr. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  14. ↑ "Live In Los Angeles, by Whirr". Whirr. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  15. 1 2 Gordon, Jeremy (October 20, 2015). "Record Labels Sever Ties With Whirr Over Transphobic Tweets". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Hodge, Lukas (April 23, 2014). "Whirr Wants You to Fuck Off". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ Whirr (2014-03-04). "Breaking News, Ian Cohen is a pussy and Pitchfork continues to be clueless about anything they're talking about..." www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  18. 1 2 Ozzi, Dan (October 20, 2015). "Whirr Got Dropped by Their Record Label for Tweeting Transphobic Bullshit". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  19. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (October 23, 2015). "Indie-Rock Band Whirr Addresses the Outrage, and Fallout, Over Transphobic Tweets". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  20. ↑ Sharp, Tyler (October 20, 2015). "Whirr blame transphobic tweets on 'friend'". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on 2017-03-09. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
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