>>> If you grew up indie in Philly in the 1990s, you’ll remember the Swirlies as being part of an underground railroad of bands that included lots of others along the Eastern Seaboad — Unrest, Tsunami, Lilys, Velocity Girl, Small Factory, Versus, Helium, Sleepyhead among them — that basically took the DIY ethos of hardcore and applied it to something art-ier. So many of the bands and seven-inch singles of this time are lost to history and dusty 45 cases — except when we bust them out once a year for Love Rock Brunch — that when one of the real-deal players comes back around, it’s hard not to get excited. Such is the case with The Swirlies (pictured) who, along with Lilys, were easily the most My Bloody Valentine-influenced of the lot. But they did it well, and with their entire output now online for free, it’s nice to hear that their stuff has aged a lot better than some of their contemporaries. The Swirlies are back together tonight and playing at Johnny Brenda’s as part of only a handful of gigs they’re doing. Take a trip down memory lane with us, won’t you? Also on the bill Arc In Round (formerly Relay) and Gregory & The Hawk.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 5:30 pm.