{"id":27223,"date":"2017-11-01T17:15:20","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T21:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27223"},"modified":"2017-10-29T09:35:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-29T13:35:40","slug":"whimm-streams-debut-album-stare-ajar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27223","title":{"rendered":"WHIMM streams debut album &#8216;A Stare Ajar&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27229\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=1800%2C1800\" alt=\"\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?w=1800&amp;ssl=1 1800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=144%2C144&amp;ssl=1 144w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=624%2C624&amp;ssl=1 624w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=176%2C176&amp;ssl=1 176w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Toronto avant-rock\u00a0trio WHIMM&#8217;s\u00a0debut album &#8216;A Stare Ajar&#8217;\u00a0is out now. The nine-song collection\u00a0was released on October 27th via Pleasence Records, and is now available <a href=\"https:\/\/hivemindpr.us10.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=04780c244c226dd8f0096243b&amp;id=92fcbc7fc3&amp;e=998dd35436\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>. You can stream it via Soundcloud below to take a listen before you grab it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/playlists\/339653572&amp;color=%23969595&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For the past three years, Toronto&#8217;s\u00a0WHIMM\u00a0have brought the searing intensity of their live performances to\u00a0stages across North America, honed through\u00a0touring\u00a0and shows\u00a0with likeminded artists like\u00a0Ice Age,\u00a0Merchandise\u00a0and\u00a0Frigs. Singer\/guitarist Mounir Chami, bassist Andrew Matthews, and drummer Jonathan Pappo create ominous, emotionally charged avant-rock fusing spellbinding melodies with an\u00a0urgency akin to\u00a01980s anarcho-punk.<\/p>\n<p>To capture this\u00a0feverish\u00a0sound on\u00a0their debut LP,\u00a0WHIMM tapped producer Dean Tzenos from\u00a0abrasive industrial punks\u00a0Odonis Odonis.\u00a0The album&#8217;s nine\u00a0songs\u00a0were obsessively refined over several months both onstage and in their garage rehearsal space, yet the band purposefully limited recording sessions to two rapid-fire days with engineer Ian Gomes at Toronto&#8217;s Union Sound (Fucked Up, METZ, Greys).<\/p>\n<p>While bottling the band&#8217;s frantic energy, these recordings also\u00a0add\u00a0new dimensions to WHIMM&#8217;s musical landscape, expanding their instrumental palette with violin, piano, and cello from members of Toronto groups\u00a0HSY,\u00a0Scott Hardware, and visual artist\u00a0Olenka Syzmonski<strong>.\u00a0<\/strong>The album\u00a0draws on influences ranging from Southern Gothic country, as heard on cinematic opener &#8220;Ember in the Wheat&#8221;, to the uncompromising experimentation of late period Scott Walker.<\/p>\n<p>Lyrically, the record\u00a0is refracted through multiple fields of vision, gazing at a splintered world through the eyes of the displaced. Perspectives range from an immigrant office worker forced to assimilate to their environment (&#8220;Ushers&#8221;) to an H.P. Lovecraft-ian\u00a0haunted soul struck and captured by horrific apparitions (&#8220;A Stare Ajar&#8221;).\u00a0Chami penned these character studies while pulling from the stories of his family and his own experiences as a Palestinian living in Canada, wrestling with\u00a0internal conflicts while feeling trapped between worlds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think about being part of a diaspora constantly,&#8221; says Chami. &#8220;Between the home where I&#8217;ve been raised and what that demands, and what society and my friendships demand, where do I fit in? How do I stop feeling strange in these environments? I exist in both of them but I don&#8217;t really understand how.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mcnImage alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gallery.mailchimp.com\/04780c244c226dd8f0096243b\/images\/f308b054-2567-4aff-9a9c-ecc5c9da4fca.jpg?resize=335%2C357&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"335\" height=\"357\" align=\"center\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;<strong>A Stare Ajar&#8217;\u00a0tracklist<\/strong><br \/>\n1) Ember In The Wheat<br \/>\n2) A Stare Ajar<br \/>\n3) Town Hall<br \/>\n4) Undermine<br \/>\n5) Second Sound<br \/>\n6) Field of Vision<br \/>\n7) Fifth Column<br \/>\n8) Crescent<br \/>\n9) Ushers<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>WHIMM&#8217;s &#8216;A Stare Ajar&#8217; was released by\u00a0Pleasence Records on October 27th.The album is now available <a href=\"https:\/\/hivemindpr.us10.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=04780c244c226dd8f0096243b&amp;id=21495fe59c&amp;e=998dd35436\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>WHIMM are\u00a0hitting the road in November for shows with\u00a0artists such as Pop. 1280,\u00a0Ice Cream,\u00a0and their Pleasence Records labelmates\u00a0Blonde Elvis. See the full tour info below.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mcnImage aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gallery.mailchimp.com\/04780c244c226dd8f0096243b\/images\/49632f09-ebac-4248-a100-f73ba8c0a041.jpg?resize=564%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"WHIMM tour poster\" width=\"564\" height=\"1024\" align=\"center\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>WHIMM tour dates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nov. 9 &#8211; Guelph &#8211; Dstrct<br \/>\nNov. 11 &#8211; Hamilton &#8211; HAVN * &gt;<br \/>\nNov. 17 &#8211; Toronto &#8211; The Baby G (LP Release) +<br \/>\nNov. 24 &#8211; Ottawa &#8211; Pressed &gt;<br \/>\nNov 25\u00a0&#8211; Kingston &#8211; Venue TBA &gt;<br \/>\nNov. 26\u00a0&#8211; Montreal &#8211; PN &gt;<br \/>\nNov. 30 &#8211; New York &#8211; Silent Barn ^ &gt;<br \/>\nNov. 31 &#8211; New York &#8211; Venue TBA &gt;<\/p>\n<p>^ With Pop. 1280<br \/>\n* With Blonde Elvis<br \/>\n+ With\u00a0Ice Cream, Que Lastima, Invisible Out<br \/>\n&gt; With Deliluh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Toronto avant-rock\u00a0trio WHIMM&#8217;s\u00a0debut album &#8216;A Stare Ajar&#8217;\u00a0is out now. The nine-song collection\u00a0was released on October 27th via Pleasence Records, and is now available here. You <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27223\" title=\"WHIMM streams debut album &#8216;A Stare Ajar&#8217;\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[23,25,28,30],"tags":[6692,4888,2777,6456],"class_list":["post-27223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie","category-live","category-music","category-new-release","tag-a-stare-ajar","tag-pleasance-records","tag-stream","tag-whimm"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Webp.net-resizeimage-2.jpg?fit=1800%2C1800&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-755","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26918,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=26918","url_meta":{"origin":27223,"position":0},"title":"WHIMM share &#8216;Second Sound&#8217; video","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Toronto's\u00a0WHIMM\u00a0have shared the video for their track Second Sound.\u00a0The\u00a0video includes appearances from members of fellow Toronto bands such as\u00a0Jimmy Tony from Dilly Dally, Erik Jude and Anna Mayberry\u00a0from HSY,\u00a0Patrick\u00a0Flegel and Scarlett Rose\u00a0from Cindy Lee, and\u00a0April Aliermo and Dan Lee from Hooded Fang\u00a0amidst a barrage of\u00a0black & white 35mm photos shot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"WHIMM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/9c92852d-23a5-4f97-a541-83fd02429f2f.jpg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/9c92852d-23a5-4f97-a541-83fd02429f2f.jpg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/9c92852d-23a5-4f97-a541-83fd02429f2f.jpg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/9c92852d-23a5-4f97-a541-83fd02429f2f.jpg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26322,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=26322","url_meta":{"origin":27223,"position":1},"title":"Toronto&#8217;s WHIMM share new song &#8216;Town Hall&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"August 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Toronto post-punk trio\u00a0WHIMM have announced that they've signed to Pleasence Records. To celebrate their addition to the label's roster, they shared the feverish first song\u00a0from their upcoming debut album. Listen to Town Hall via Soundcloud below. With contributions\u00a0from producer Dean Tzenos of Odonis Odonis, Anna Mayberry of HSY \/ Anamai,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"WHIMM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/16901817-3b46-4e0f-9e5c-e32df47402e1.jpg?fit=1018%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/16901817-3b46-4e0f-9e5c-e32df47402e1.jpg?fit=1018%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/16901817-3b46-4e0f-9e5c-e32df47402e1.jpg?fit=1018%2C727&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/16901817-3b46-4e0f-9e5c-e32df47402e1.jpg?fit=1018%2C727&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28514,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=28514","url_meta":{"origin":27223,"position":2},"title":"Canadian Music Week 2018 announces more artists","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"March 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Canadian Music Week\u00a0(CMW) has announced the next wave of artists performing at this year's festival taking place May 7-13, at over thirty official CMW venues across downtown Toronto. Atlanta MC, and trap rap king\u00a02 Chainz, Canadian electronic solo artist\u00a0Alice Glass, Seattle based DJ and producer\u00a0Sango, The Used\u00a0and our local faves\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;live&quot;","block_context":{"text":"live","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=25"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canadian Music Week","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MARCH6_Announcement_1081x1080.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MARCH6_Announcement_1081x1080.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MARCH6_Announcement_1081x1080.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MARCH6_Announcement_1081x1080.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29559,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=29559","url_meta":{"origin":27223,"position":3},"title":"Vaureen share new single &#8216;Stare Into The Sun&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"August 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Brooklyn trio Vaureen have shared their new single Stare Into The Sun, and also announce new album 'Extraterra' due out 26th October via Rising Pulse Records. Formed in 2011 in Brooklyn, New York, three-piece Vaureen are anything but straight-forward. Combining the off-kilter fuzz of mid-90\u2019s grunge aligned against abreactive passages\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vaureen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/vaureen-2015-2-lo.jpg?fit=680%2C454&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/vaureen-2015-2-lo.jpg?fit=680%2C454&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/vaureen-2015-2-lo.jpg?fit=680%2C454&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12659,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=12659","url_meta":{"origin":27223,"position":4},"title":"Stream ANAMAI&#8217;s debut album &#8216;Sallows&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"March 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Toronto experimental folk duo ANAMAI is set to release their debut album\u00a0'Sallows'\u00a0next week (March 10) via\u00a0Buzz Records. You can\u00a0stream the album in its entirety a week early via\u00a0SoundCloud\u00a0below. ...and you can also watch a live video of the duo performing their song Dirt at 8-11 gallery in Toronto via YouTube\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Canada&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Canada","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=206"},"img":{"alt_text":"ANAMAI promo with hoodie","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/ANAMAI.jpg?fit=531%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/ANAMAI.jpg?fit=531%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/ANAMAI.jpg?fit=531%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41724,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=41724","url_meta":{"origin":27223,"position":5},"title":"Caboose release debut album \u2018Left For Dust\u2019 \u2013 Stream It Now!","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"April 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Stockholm\u2019s rising stoner rock force, Caboose, has blasted onto the scene with their thunderous debut album, \u2018Left For Dust,\u2019 via Majestic Mountain Records. Stream the full album right now via Bandcamp. https:\/\/caboosefuzz.bandcamp.com\/album\/left-for-dust The Obelisk describes \u2018Left For Dust\u2019 as channeling the raw energy of early Queens of the Stone Age\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Caboose press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4133.jpeg?fit=600%2C474&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4133.jpeg?fit=600%2C474&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4133.jpeg?fit=600%2C474&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27223"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27230,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27223\/revisions\/27230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}