Austin – There’s a very narrow window in the spring when an outdoor show in Austin is pleasant, and April falls right in the middle of it. Too bad that’s also the rainy season. Whirr, though, is an exception: the hangover of a vicious April squall on Saturday night created just the right atmosphere for the San Francisco band’s shoe-gazing sound—anxious, ghostly, groggy. And whether or not that extra touch was what coaxed people to Mohawk’s outside stage in spite of the lingering thunder, they showed up all the same.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to discover that Whirr’s fans are uncommonly loyal. Whirr started in 2010, a few years after My Bloody Valentine’s triumphant return, and a few years before MBV proved there was still a demand for screechy, radio-hostile guitars that are hiding the song’s best hooks. Whirr has scratched that itch with as much precision as any new band in the last ten years, picking up where Ride, Slowdive, and Chapterhouse et. al. left off. Add a dollop of Slint, and it’s not surprising that a certain kind of listener will be undeterred by crappy weather.
Those listeners were rewarded Saturday with a good portion the band’s latest album, 2014’s Sway. As a record it dives deep into the broodier, more dramatic side of its ancestry. The pace is sluggish, the tone is dramatic, and wall-of-fuzz guitars adorn vocals that almost aren’t worth trying to discern. Epitomizing this style is “Mumble”, whose title may or may not be self effacing. Two powerful drum taps in the first second are the quietest this song gets. Beneath all the noise though is an undeniably compelling chord progression, and some surprisingly touching lyrics if you happen to catch them.
Whirr appear to sense that this wall of sound might get relentless when they throw in some dynamic shifts on “Dry”, where lonesome guitar melodies punctuate the same fuzz guitars heard elsewhere. It makes itself more than a gesture, though, by virtue of the melody’s power and the loud/quiet shift building more elegantly than on a Pixies song.
And of course, it’s not like Whirr can’t write other kinds of songs. They’ve tread more melodic, guitar poppy grounds before. “Meaningless” stands out as a personal favorite from 2012’s Distressor, and Pipe Dreams from the same year applies that approach to the whole album. Besides treating us to more poppy melodies, these songs follow a much livelier tempo. Even on Sway, though it’s a matter of emphasis. The record opens with “Press”, a song whose opening promises more fuzz and screech until the first verse begins. As it so happens, “Press” is an immaculate example of the beautiful melancholy songwriting that made Whirlpool by Chapterhouse such a classic. Though all of these tendencies have shown themselves in one place or another on every Whirr record, you can definitely chart a shift in poles from Pipe Dreams to Sway. But the live set needs the full package to really work. The band doesn’t seem itself without the sludginess of Sway, but absent a cathartic touch of pop the show would have been merely depressing.
For all their craftsmanship and personal artistic development, this is all stuff you’ve heard before if you’re interested in 90’s music. But to call Whirr old hat would be missing the point. Punk has managed to get 30 years and more out of a genre defined by its inflexibility, mostly by inspiring devout attention to the roots of the scene. That seems to be how Whirr is honoring their 90’s idols—extending the work those bands started, writing original songs in the same idiom, and doing a pretty good job at it. And what’s wrong with that? The group has shown that those reserves are far from exhausted.
Whirr wraps up their tour this week with a couple of dates in California—if you happen to be in Santa Cruz or Oakland, it’s worth your time to see them. If not, here’s hoping their next project starts soon.
Will Jukes
Latest posts by Will Jukes (see all)
- Dawes Matures With “All Your Favorite Bands” - June 2, 2015
- Communions Find Balance in New EP - June 2, 2015
- Wolf Alice Takes Austin Back to the 90’s - May 27, 2015
