Anyone with a focus on the scheme of alternative music can likely speak for Whirr, an Oakland-based band whose place in the shoegaze spotlight is equally rooted in deafening reverb as the not-so-PC comments of a Facebook thread. The band’s public ridicule of Pitchfork, Anthony Fantano and later an audience of fans and foes alike attributes to their steely reputation of, well, not giving a f*ck.
With the throes of attention from both media and those brave enough to engage with Whirr’s sharply tongued Internet presence, it seems one important factor has gone slightly overlooked. Their music. Contrasting the band’s outward social media is the bulk of their discography, a string of releases lighting this act in a much more contemplative state. Go as far back as 2011’s June EP and hear “Junebouvier,” a track whose—dare we say it—sensitive lyrics paint the band far from the crass Twitter feed we hold them to. “Hey June, I want to feel safe/Please stay for a while/Fear induced my mind into exile/I know; I just want to be in the shade with everyone I need.” The track is an affirming one, packaged with a certain tenderness that can’t help but evoke a lighthearted feeling we wish wouldn’t slip away.
But it does. Flash forward to “Mumble,” a track from 2014’s Sway off Graveface Records, whose sound is as far from happy-go-lucky as Mr. Rogers from a flesh-eating Hannibal Lecter. Sway is darker and certainly stormier, tying largely into the brutality often expressed in Nothing’s work, a band Whirr guitarist Nick Bassett’s played member to since the mid-2013 mark. With the bleed between both bands’ crosshairs, Whirr has turned the dial from sunshine to shoegazy suffering. Who knows if they’re going back?
Regardless their trajectory, one thing is certain. They’re going to be loud. Whirr played to a sold out Middle East on their last spin around Boston, nearly deafening their audience after an ear-splitting set from Cloakroom. It’s what they’re going for—so please, bring your earplugs.
Though the waves of Whirr-trolling frenzy has since calmed to mere ripples in the water, they’re still known as “the mean band on the internet.” Which is why I was sweating at the thought of a talk with Nick Bassett, brain behind many witty yet oh-so cutting remarks of a Twitter handle and Facebook page. Our conversation was short, ranging from tour plans with noteworthy kinda-sorta-labelmates, Adventures, to his mysterious description of Nothing frontman, Dominic Palermo.
Despite the band’s tough as nails exterior, it’s worth noting Bassett’s thoughts going into this U.S trek. Coming straight from tour with Nothing to throw himself into yet another trip with Whirr, he’s exhausted. But he is excited to once again hit the road with friends, who in his eyes, might just be everyone he needs.
Check out the interview below before catching Whirr play a sold out Middle East alongside Adventures and Funeral Advantage this Thursday, 4/9.
AP: Tour starts in Denver, have you booked rooms at The Overlook yet?
NB: Nah, last time we stayed there our drummer died and our singer quit.
AP: Stephen King’s huge on The Ramones. CCR and The Temptations, too. Do you think he’d be into Whirr?
NB: He’d better be for his own good.
AP: How many fans are going to get swirl tattoos from Shoe?
NB: At least 15 confirmed as of now.
AP: For new Whirr/Nothing fans, could you speak a bit about your relationship with Dominic Palermo?
NB: He’s the shadiest friend I’ve ever had.
AP: Yours and Palermo’s cover of “Wonderful Tonight” is sweet as hell. Did you know Clapton’s birthday is today? He’s 70 years old.
NB: Damn, I had no idea. He’s the man. Straight up.
AP: What would Seth Putnam do?
NB: Heroin. Throw chairs. Hit women. Go to jail. Die.
AP: Your cover of Pennyroyal Tea is fantastic, too. What was your experience with the Robotic Empire compilation?
NB: It was cool, took a long time to have that song come out though.
AP: We don’t have any Del Tacos here, is that a deal breaker?
NB: I know there’s one in Colorado, it has a salsa bar. Might be the best one in the world.
AP: What are your thoughts going into this tour? Whirr tours pretty regularly, but do you think this one will play out differently? How’d you get looped in with Adventures?
NB: This tour is bittersweet for me. On one hand im exhausted because I’m literally coming directly out of a nothing tour into this WHIRR tour then directly back into a nothing tour, though It is fun hanging with everyone in Whirr, we’re all best friends and it just feels like we’re hanging in different cities every night.
I hope people come to the shows. Our agent Greg hit us up about them doing shows and we were into it.