There’s a new Whirr record out in the world. How does that make you feel? For some, the answer is an easy “fuck off, forever.” For others, it’s somewhere between a welcome surprise and a little more nuanced of a reaction. The band does come with its share of baggage from a decade ago after being cancelled for making transphobic remarks, allegedly posted on then-Twitter by a non-member. Their response wasn’t the best, and essentially, it forced them to go underground. Frontman Nick Bassett finally broke his silence earlier this year about his regrets from those events. Some won’t ever forgive he and the band regardless whereas others are on the side that second chances can be granted if you’ve actually learned from your fuckups. These pages aren’t here to continue policing the scene over something that went down ten years ago and shows an effort from a flawed individual to grow/change for the better, and given that Whirr’s influence on the latest wave of densely reverbed shoegaze bands is loud and clear in the blur, it at the very least makes the arrival of Raw Blue interesting to deconstruct. “Speeding”, however, is nowhere to be found on that album. As the A-side to an accompanying single of tracks that didn’t fit into the album’s tone and feel, it’s arguably one of the more transfixing new shapes from the Modesto band. Their lush weight fades into pools of dream-pop, and Bassett’s vocals become a thin veil of vapor over it rather than an energy attempting to burn through the static. “And if this is Hell / I’ll jump in / If you ask me / I’ll go gladly.” He’s been seeing the end for so long at this stage that if these sounds mark the band’s final judgement, it’s going to cool any flames.

Whirr’s “Speeding” / “Busy” single is available now on The Funeral Party.