“Words We Can’t Read” Highlights New Beginnings For Florida’s Whale Feral
Since their adolescent years opening for acts like Marcus King and The Heavy Pets, Whale Feral has encountered some growing pains. In 2020 the band relocated from their Gainesville roots to founding members Matt Urban and Ricky Cagno's hometown of Tampa. After their new slate of bay area bookings was abruptly canceled due to the Covid pandemic, they confronted another hurdle- replacing two band members. Still, the Whales didn't flounder. Having already filled in on a handful of gigs, the band's new drummer, Alex Garcia, slipped in seamlessly, playing his first show as an official member at Tampa's 2023 Gasparilla Music Festival. Their bassist, Geoff Weber, came aboard shortly after as Whale Feral went back into the studio.
Words We Can't Read differs in tone from the non-stop blues-jam energy of the band's pre-pandemic live album, "All's Whale That Ends Whale". The measured restraint and deeper exploration of American roots on Words reflects the growth of the band over the last few years, offering an outlook of hope through its melancholy mood.
The album opens with a new take on one of their original tunes, "Out Here in the Cold". The song welcomes us into the party with upbeat strumming and a playful jawbone rattle before the entire studio joins in on the chorus, singing along to the one-night-stand proposition of "keep me warm tonight". Track two takes the young man's arrogance further with the bouncy delta swing of "Fight or Flight", as our narrator insists not only that he remains unbroken, but ended things on his own accord.
"The First Waltz" continues cradling us down, transitioning from Cagno's grumbling vocals to a reflective lullaby from Urban. The lyrics question the previously established point of view before building the song into a percussive campfire jam. The album's journey then hits rock bottom with the aptly named "Whiskey Hole". The bass and drums quickly drive us back to sobriety with a momentum that suggests our character is past the very lyrics he is singing.
"The Ballad of Bob Morley" offers a new beginning as Urban's lyrics of re-finding oneself are supported by the band's harmonization, adding encouragement atop his acceptance. The album continues with the hesitant excitement of "Haunted", reflected in its soft bluegrassy sound before returning to Cagno's folksy vocal lead on "Diving into the New".
The album then circles back to its starting energy with the penultimate "Supermoon", in which the previously building hope has blossomed into fully confident motivation. Despite the excitement of the track, one can't help but feel concerned—as if we are watching a friend foolishly jump back into the same destructive pattern. Fortunately, that unearned fearlessness is addressed in the final track.
"The 13th" showcases a growth and maturity with Urban's opening lyrics, "Hey, I shoulda known, I shoulda knew. Making promises, breaking promises too". Instead of following this awareness with self-deprecation, Cagno's backing vocals and the transition from acoustic to electric riffs build the song right back to to the album's previous hopefulness- this time leaving the listener confident that a lesson has been learned.
