Greg Wheeler & The Poly Mall Cops Explore “Slimephone Surveillance” On New Album

Greg Wheeler And The Poly Mall Cops have returned with their new full length, Slimephone Surveillance, that is out today on vinyl and digital formats via High Dive Records. This new eleven-track outing follows the ripping sonic template outlined on the Des Moines, IA trio’s 2023 debut, Manic Fever, while turning up the heat with their biggest and boldest arrangements yet. Slimephone Surveillance explores the toxic allure of technology and the autonomy humans are willing to give up for a sense of digital connection, as well as the ever devolving social, political and environmental climates that are explored in treatises that reflect the mental toll of a world where good news seems hard to come by.

DIY at heart, Greg Wheeler And The Poly Mall Cops once again build the foundation of their record on live takes captured in their basement studio, however on Slimephone Surveillance the sonic palette is expanded with guitar and vocal overdubs that reinforce a heightened sense of urgency on this go-around. Whilst Manic Fever was created in a drawn out process amongst the pandemic, Slimephone Surveillance arrives with a fresh tense energy as Greg Wheeler And The Poly Mall Cops emerge from isolation and seek to navigate life in a newly messed up world. The result is an irrepressible momentum and the trio’s most undeniable outing yet.

“The mixing process allowed us to pan things out and give this album more of a stereo or “hi-fi” feel.  That said, it is by no means a big slick record.  You’re getting the natural intensity of the band as we are live, just with some studio flourishes.” (guitarist & vocalist Greg Wheeler)