{"id":730,"date":"2009-03-06T11:29:55","date_gmt":"2009-03-06T16:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hightwo.com\/ht\/?p=730"},"modified":"2009-03-06T11:29:55","modified_gmt":"2009-03-06T16:29:55","slug":"philadelphia-weekly-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/philadelphia-weekly-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – W+C"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Doug Wallen
\nSource: Philadelphia Weekly, Umm…Drop
\nLink to article<\/a><\/p>\n

Puzzle-pop doesn’t get much more puzzling than on\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em>, the long-awaited album by the madcap Philly troupe\u00a0Whales and Cops<\/strong>. It’s packed with intimate shivers and hulking revelations and everything in between, beeping and blurring while virtuosic players with fake names wrangle vivid new life from their instruments.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Maybe that sounds like hyperbole, but this band’s sonic extremes are enough to shock even listeners weaned on years of Man Man, from which Whales and Cops were an offshoot. A more kindred spirit these days might be Make a Rising, an equally batty ensemble with two albums on the local label High Two, which will soon release\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Just finished, the album doesn’t have a track listing yet. That and the absence of real names increases the disorienting experience that is Whales and Cops’ ambitious jazz- and classical-damaged art-pop. Vocals are an iffy quantity at best, although one track finds a sublime voice stepping in as if to sooth a sobbing child. But it lasts less than a minute, and in other places the singing is mercurial at best.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>As with Man Man, the drumming and other percussion is stunning. Constantly evolving but always involving, it holds down the fort for a most erratic array of sounds. Yet there’s a very real undertow of pop here, from wind-swept strings and pristine female backing vocals to buzzing and bouncing synths. Having multiple multi-instrumentalists is key for Whales and Cops, and\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em> certainly benefits from so much rapid-fire scene-changing and many kaleidoscopic build-ups.<\/p>\n

Whales and Cops<\/strong> Thurs., July 17, 9pm.
\n<\/em>$5.
\nWith Sexy Thoughts.<\/em>
\nInciting HQ,
\n940 N. Delaware Ave.
\nwww.myspace.com\/inciting<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/strong>But hey, if you still think these guys can’t possibly be as eye-poppingly strange as described here, head to their warehouse show and let their friends cut your hair. Yes, they’re offering free haircuts before the show. Why? Because they can.<\/p>\n


\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Doug Wallen Source: Philadelphia Weekly, Umm…Drop Link to article Puzzle-pop doesn’t get much more puzzling than on\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":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_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[47,94,50,60,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","category-ht023","category-releases","category-reviews","category-whales-and-cops"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","acf":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":538,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/whales-cops-great-bouncing-icebergs\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":0},"title":"Whales & Cops – Great Bouncing Icebergs","author":"admin","date":"November 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Whales & Cops Great Bouncing Icebergs - EP 2008 Cd, Mp3 Download (#2)","rel":"","context":"In "CD's"","block_context":{"text":"CD's","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/cds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Whales and Cops - Great Bouncing Icebergs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/ht023-80x80.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":732,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/blogcritics-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":1},"title":"Review – W+C","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Luke Johnson Source: Blogcritics February 23, 2009 Link to this article In listening to Whales and Cops\u2019\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs, I can\u2019t help but think of Roadside Monument\u2019s swan song,\u00a0I am the Day of Current Taste.\u00a0 Few remember such albums, and it\u2019s a shame.\u00a0 Some albums are just too inventive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1561,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/debut-ep-from-whales-and-cops-ex-man-man-out-in-november-on-high-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":2},"title":"Debut EP from WHALES AND COPS (ex-Man Man) out in November on High Two","author":"Daniel Piotrowski","date":"September 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Great Bouncing Icebergs, the five-song EP from Whales and Cops -- a new band featuring former members of Man Man -- is out in November on High Two.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"whalesandcops","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/whalesandcops-1024x628.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":734,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/pw-2008-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":3},"title":"Review – W+C","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Doug Wallen Source: Philadelphia Weekly Link to this article Whales and Cops,\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs EP (High Two): Only ex-Man Man folks could make a racket this batty.","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/ht023\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":4},"title":"Whales and Cops: Great Bouncing Icebergs","author":"Daniel Piotrowski","date":"November 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a1Futuro Futuro! [download#2#nohits] [download#2#image] Fifty Black Marines Suave Homeless Asshole Bent Cop All Songs by Whales and Cops Also recorded by Bill Moriarty & Mark Scott at American Diamond, but mostly by Mr. Cops at the Bubbletape Lounge -- Philadelphia's worst recording facility. The experience is not unlike sawing off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Whales and Cops - Great Bouncing Icebergs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/ht023.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1026,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-wc\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":5},"title":"Reviews – W+C","author":"admin","date":"March 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Joe Gotschall Source: Popwreckoning Link to this article Reigning from West Philadelphia\u2019s late \u201cSoft Batch\u201d scene, Whales and Cops is comprised of ex-Man Man members and half-brothers Mr. Nathaniel Cops (keys, bees, bells, percussion) and Finger Julius Mountain (drums, marimba, keys, percussion) accompanied by the multi-talented instrumentalist Otzi Bogman\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}