Whirl – Distressor 12” EP

Every once in a while a new band will come along that blows my mind with their music to a level that I obsess about them non-stop. It’s rare, but it does happen. And I listen to their record(s) ad nauseum and dissect the music and try to just drown in their sound. It has happened again now with Whirl. I honestly have no solid idea how exactly I stumbled upon the group and their music. It’s definitely through the band’s connection with Deafheaven. It turns out that Nick Bassett of Deafheaven was and still is in Whirl prior to him joining Deafheaven. This connection is more than likely what prompted me to check out Whirl. As soon as I got through listening to the Distressor EP stream on their bancamp page, I was hooked. Whirl (now going by the name Whirr due to some legal tanglings), play straight-up shoegaze indie pop that is in the same style and feel as the bands of that genre back in the 90s. And it’s awesome.

The band put out a very limited cassette of Distressor and as expected it quickly went out of print. A second run of it is available from Bridgetown Records. But of course finding the vinyl version of this is what matters most. At least to all the nerds involved on this hobby.

The vinyl was done by The Sounds of Sweet Nothing out of the UK. At the time of looking into it, I did not know you could order directly from the label. So after seeing it posted on Whirl’s Facebook page, I ordered it from Rough Trade in the UK.

500 copies pressed in black vinyl. Simple jacket and artwork. The images adoring the record are vague and allow for the music to speak for itself. Which is what really matters here. Especially with the music Whirl creates.

Now here’s where I am annoyed to no end.

First. There must be some sort of cardboard shortage in the UK. Do they not have normal LP mailers like we do here in the U.S. I always seem to get records shipped in these flimsy envelope mailers that will guarantee the records to get all jacked up.

Second. I know and understand that Rough Trade is a label and a store. Why in the hell is there a price/info label sticker affixed to the jacket itself?!?! Talk about taking away from the simplicity of the cover art with this thing. I’ll have to figure out a way to safely take it off without damaging the jacket. Any suggestions?

Third. I should have waited until Deathwish got these in their distro and have a better chance of un-jacked and un-stickered jackets. Hopefully.

Oh the risks and adventures of mail ordering. Never ceases to amaze me.

Oh yeah…I wrote a pretty damn good review of the actual EP over at The 1^st Five…check it out here…Boo-yah!