Swirlies

Swirlies
Swirlies in their practice space, 1992
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts
Genres	Indie rock,lo-fi, chimp rock,shoegaze, noise pop
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Taang!, Bubblecore, Slumberland, Sneaky Flute Empire

Swirlies is an indie rock band formed in Boston in 1990. They have often been compared to My Bloody Valentine, and are sometimes referred to as shoegaze musicians.

Guitarists Seana Carmody and Damon Tutunjian met each other in Spring 1990 when they joined a Go-Go's cover band formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tutunjian, Carmody, and drummer Jason Fitzpatrick learned two songs before abandoning their original objective in favor of writing originals. Under the name Raspberry Bang, the group released one song on a 7" compilation to benefit animal rights.

In November 1990, Tutunjian's high school friend Andy Bernick was enlisted to play bass and MIT student Ben Drucker was recruited on drums. The band began writing and recording songs characterized by shifting tempos, loud vibrato guitars played through numerous effects pedals, Tutunjian and Carmody's melodic vocal interplay, and occasional bursts of screaming and other noise. They completed their first 4-track demo in December 1990, and played their first show on January 25, 1991. Because of the band's practice of alternate guitar tunings, Bernick took to playing tapes or static from an old AM radio to fill time while Carmody and Tutunjian adjusted their guitars. This lo-fi sound would later spill over between songs on the band's recorded work.

In 1991 Swirlies made some 8-track home recordings, which saw issue as the band's first single "Didn't Understand," first self-released as a cassette and then as a 7" record by Slumberland Records. A split double-single with Boston noise rock band Kudgel followed, and the group entered the studio for a single and compilation tracks for Boston's Pop Narcotic label.