Whales and Leeches

This is music with brains and bite. [12 Oct 2013, p.52]

Though Funk's main gig with the Decemberists might seem to be about as far from Red Fang as you're likely to get, the producer's penchant for intricacy helps to lend the album a certain depth, channeling the band's inclination toward brute force into something altogether more expansive while still keeping the grittiness of their sound intact.

Whales & Leeches doesn't see Red Fang veering far from their signature, grooving sound, but they deploy all the tricks in their musical arsenal extremely effectively, refining them into a terrible, sharpened point.

Whales & Leeches, their third full-length, offers more of what we’ve come to expect from the group, and can only be described as a hard-rocking, hard-partying good time.

On their third outings most bands attempt to step up their game in terms of consistent songwriting. Instead, there's as many skippable tracks on this record as those worth revisiting. Mere competency is not sufficient to turn heads, especially in the year that abounds in high-quality stoner rock releases.

Overall, Whales and Leeches amounts to a frustrating release, because when the band try something adventurous instrumentally or vocally--as heard on “DOEN”, “Dawn Rising”, and “Every Little Twist”--these road-hardened grafters really kick their potential in the guts.

Whales And Leeches ultimately fails to capitalise upon or recapture the spirit of their previous releases.