{"id":732,"date":"2009-03-06T11:31:32","date_gmt":"2009-03-06T16:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hightwo.com\/ht\/?p=732"},"modified":"2009-03-06T11:31:32","modified_gmt":"2009-03-06T16:31:32","slug":"blogcritics-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/blogcritics-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – W+C"},"content":{"rendered":"
Author: Luke Johnson<\/a>
\nSource: Blogcritics February 23, 2009
\nLink to this article<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

In listening to Whales and Cops\u2019\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em>, I can\u2019t help but think of Roadside Monument\u2019s swan song,\u00a0I am the Day of Current Taste<\/em>.\u00a0 Few remember such albums, and it\u2019s a shame.\u00a0 Some albums are just too inventive for their own good.\u00a0\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em> shares the math rock, post-punk tendency of\u00a0I am the Day of Current Taste<\/em>, but Whales and Cops do all their work through loops, blips, and electronic hiccups.<\/p>\n

Even likening\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em> to anything else doesn\u2019t quite work other than to allow a window into bits and pieces of its makeup; it\u2019s not precise enough.\u00a0 For instance, \u201cBent Cop\u201d doesn\u2019t really have anything to do with math rock.\u00a0 It floats on organ and flute as if it should sit on a Death Cab for Cutie record \u2013 at least for the first minute or so of its play time.\u00a0 The percussion is diverse and reckless.\u00a0 Hand drums sit along what sounds like trash cans and chimes.<\/p>\n

The instrumentation on\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em> doesn\u2019t sound mechanical.\u00a0 Flute, violin, clarinet, cello, sax, and \u2013 oh yeah \u2013 flugelhorn all weave squares of color into the quilt.\u00a0 It\u2019s organic first and foremost, an electronic album that doesn\u2019t sound like electronica.<\/p>\n

The stand out track, the flagship of the album, is \u201cSuave Homeless Asshole\u201d.\u00a0 At nine-plus minutes, it\u2019s neither too long nor too smug.\u00a0 It\u2019s nearly wordless.\u00a0 At times cacophonous, gothic, cheery, spacey, \u201cSuave Homeless Asshole\u201d reminds that making a song over five minutes long can be done well.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em> sounds like a cohesive album more than an EP.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to believe that the EP is only twenty-one minutes long.\u00a0 So much is packed in there.<\/p>\n

I had never heard of Whales and Cops before now.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think many outside of Philly have.\u00a0 On the strength of\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs<\/em>, however, if there\u2019s any justice in the record biz \u2013 and I\u2019m not sure that there is \u2013 Whales and Cops will keep making records.\u00a0 What\u2019s more likely is that talent like this will delight a select few audiophiles and will be completely ignored by anyone with money to throw behind such a unique band.<\/p>\n

As far as recommendations go, this one goes without saying.\u00a0 It\u2019ll cost you little, and it\u2019s worth a lot.\u00a0 This will most likely be on a short list of my favorite listens of 2009.<\/p><\/div>\n

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

Author: Luke Johnson Source: Blogcritics February 23, 2009 Link to this article In listening to Whales and Cops\u2019\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-732","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":732,"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":730,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/philadelphia-weekly-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":732,"position":1},"title":"Review – W+C","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Doug Wallen Source: Philadelphia Weekly, Umm...Drop Link to article Puzzle-pop doesn't get much more puzzling than on\u00a0Great Bouncing Icebergs, the long-awaited album by the madcap Philly troupe\u00a0Whales and Cops. It's packed with intimate shivers and hulking revelations and everything in between, beeping and blurring while virtuosic players with fake\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":732,"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":732,"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":732,"position":4},"title":"Whales and Cops: Great Bouncing Icebergs","author":"Daniel Piotrowski","date":"November 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a1Futuro Futuro! 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Featuring former members of Man Man, the Great Bouncing Iceberg EP was years in the making -- and it sure sounds like it. 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