Kerr and co-founding lead guitarist Oliver Mann formed a core project in 2007 while still in high school, with Christopher McClelland joining in 2009 and Graham Serl rounding out the lineup for JPNSGRLS in 2010.

[citation needed] In April 2018, Kerr announced via several social media platforms and the band website that the group was retiring the name JPNSGRLS and rebranding as Hotel Mira.

Overall, reviews of Circulation were positive and called particular attention to the record's energy and how it would translate live, and vice versa—noting the uplift of the rhythm section and the contrasting darker lyrical content.

[14] Reviewers also noted that JPNSGRLS' combination of 1990s alt-rock and post-punk revival created a complex modern rock sound that made it a 2014 musical peak.

[17] In dissenting reviews, Alan Ranta of The Georgia Straight stated that Circulation was "a little inconsistent and under-developed" as a whole but concluded that "hooks abound... so the future holds promise",[18] while Ride the Tempo also made mention of "uneven" results—expressing frustration by saying that JPNSGRLS clearly had the capacity to be "exceptional", while also admitting that the songs were "solid and enjoyable".

[24] Circulation debuted on the CMJ 200 (American college and community radio) at #96 in July 2014, spending ten weeks on the chart, with a top position of #35 in August 2014.

[28] Both the song and its video were inspired by Boys Don't Cry, a 1999 film starring Hilary Swank, which told the story of Brandon Teena, a trans man who was raped and murdered in Nebraska in 1993.

"[31] British music website FMS (FashionMusicStyle) went further in its take on Kerr's abilities as a lyricist, stating, "The tales of isolated youth, love and lust that filled their first album, Circulation, make a welcome return, set apart from the pack by the quality of songwriting from lead singer Charlie Kerr... His songwriting captures elements of the witty social insight of Alex Turner, the sing-a-long choruses of the Gallaghers and the honest emotion of Jesse Lacey and weaves it all together, as Kerr swings from vitriolic roar to crisp falsetto, singing with such passion that the listener cannot help but be pulled into his world... Whilst JPNSGRLS continue to experiment with their sound and influences, Divorce is a testament to the band's craftsmanship and talent as they create one of the best indie rock albums of the year so far.

[33] Substream Magazine wrote that "Divorce offers a wholly refreshing take on indie rock that traverses several areas of the genre and its adjacent variations...

"[34] "The band have drawn clear influence from the likes of the Hives and Arctic Monkeys but added their own unique touch", said Clunk Magazine—giving it 7.5 stars out of 10 and going on to say that Divorce "is cohesive, infectious and has multiple layers of intelligence through the songwriting.

"[35] Glide Magazine gave the album 8 out of 10 stars, also calling out the single "Oh My God" for particular attention, stating that "the song showcases what JPNSGRLS does best, combining post-punk's energy and riffing with the raw power and emotion of grunge".

"[37] Stuart Derdyn of the Vancouver Sun said in his review of the album that "Charlie Kerr has the requisite swagger in his voice and enough range to go from a seductive and detached lower register to high-pitched howling on 'A Girl from a Different Dimension'… While the group is mostly thrashing full-on, it displays a great sense of pop hooks on the super-catchy 'A Comprehensive List of Things I Love'—complete with call-and-response girl-group-style choruses.

"[40] German alternative music site Visions noted the socio-critical theme of the single and shifts from the band's previous work, along with the group's continuing ability to segue seamlessly between indie, pop, and blues rock.

And a big component of what society teaches boys, growing up, is to reject everything about themselves that is traditionally feminine, which ultimately leads to men seeing women as less than human," Kerr said.

[58][59] Reflecting the band's rebranding, the eponymous EP, released in August 2018, was the first under the new three-piece lineup of Kerr, Lauro, and Noble, with session musicians on percussion and keys, both in the studio and for touring.

[60] The first single, "3AM Lullaby", was characterized by Mike Usinger of The Georgia Straight as "a bass-and-drum bombed blast of impassioned indie new wave that contains one of the greatest summations of current life in Vancouver you'll hear this year".

[61] Alan Cross of A Journal of Musical Things noted that the song was exemplary of "trebly alt rock borrowing heavy influences from mid-00s garage indie, the lyrical content explores a far darker existentialism than the instrumentals necessarily reflect".

[62] On their exclusive release of the video, directed and produced by cmyk, Substream Magazine said the single "created an elevated sound that can be described as a polished garage rock band".

[63] In exclusively releasing the second single, "Baby", Clash magazine said the song "offers spiky indie rock thrills, reminiscent of the Walkmen or Arctic Monkeys, but still with an attachment to the underground".

[76] The video for "This Could Be It for Me"—premiered on the Popdust website and directed by Zachary Vague and Sterling Larose—featured visuals that ran the gamut from a Marie Antoinette homage to an underwater sequence with Kerr in chains around his neck, to a hard neon performance section under a bridge.

[77] WXVU publication Barricade said the single "flaunts Hotel Mira's immaculate pop sensibility along with producer Eric Ratz's prowess behind the board".

Soundzine stated that "Perfectionism brings with it a transition in sound from the garage into a considerably lusher landscape" and that the album "takes listeners on a vibrant and unpredictable ride".

new wave, indie-alternative, post-punk, glam, punk – it's all evident in their blazing glory" and that "to simply highlight individual tracks does a disservice to the consistency of quality throughout the entirety of this excellent album".

[85] Hotel Mira's wide-ranging musical influences include Nirvana, Frank Ocean, Queens of the Stone Age, Tame Impala, Led Zeppelin, Franz Ferdinand, Rage Against the Machine, Phoenix, White Stripes, Death from Above 1979, Foo Fighters, Pixies, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, St. Vincent, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tokyo Police Club, Black Sabbath, Dirty Projectors, Local Natives, and Gorillaz.

In May 2019, Charlie Kerr gave an interview to the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society about his own struggles with mental health and how music was a vital antidote to the very serious disorders he has suffered from for most of his life—and that right treatment also made all the difference.

[88][89][90] The band also took a clear position in the summer of 2020 in response to the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality, stating on their Facebook page: "We have, and always will, stand in solidarity with BIPOC.

The German press remarked on JPNSGRLS' particular mix of influences and how they played out live, calling their sound "a bit grungy, a little blues, a pinch of post-punk, the full program alt-rock – and implemented on a very unique, modern way".

[118] On seeing the gig at Adelaide Hall, Peter Montreuil, writing for Bob Segarini's blog, described Kerr "as a very animated frontman who has some powerful lyrics to work with", going on to muse: "A picture paints a thousand words?

[120] Throughout 2019, Hotel Mira continued local one-off gigs, and in January 2020, they announced a limited Western Canada tour to promote the Perfectionism album.

[121] However, that and a subsequent US tour that had been booked was cancelled due to lockdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as Kerr explained in an interview with Adam Lisicky of Bringin' it Backwards, in association with American Songwriter.