{"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_feature_clip_id":0,"_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":26,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/new-on-high-two-whales-and-cops\/","url_meta":{"origin":730,"position":5},"title":"New on High Two: Whales and Cops","author":"Daniel Piotrowski","date":"January 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The debut EP from Whales and Cops in finally available on CD and on iTunes (and the like). Featuring former members of Man Man, the Great Bouncing Iceberg EP was years in the making -- and it sure sounds like it. Layers of instrumentation and over 30 musicians make the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2534124834_08e5257ffe_b111","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/2534124834_08e5257ffe_b111-500x236.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"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}]}}