Critiques CD: Whirr | Around

This 2013 EP is an excellent primer into the world of San Francisco six piece Whirr. Flying under the radar of many casual music fans for the last couple of years, the group has been dropping a jaw-dropping wall of sound based around fortresses of guitar, amps, synths, reverb, big rhythms, and return. Founding guitarist Nick Bassett cut his teeth in the metal band Deafheaven, a definite influence on Whirr’s aesthetics, but this is only a drop in their sonic bucket, as drops of shoegaze, effects, rock, pedals, and pop make equal splashes on the listener. Around is incredibly their seventh short player in the last three years, on top of one full length, a lush journey into molasses speed heaviosity, buttressed by the twin hushed vocals of Kristina Esfandiari and Loren Rivera. Head’s up. Whirr are ones to watch!