Claw Hammer was an amazing live band and put out a couple of good records, but also put out some sloppy, good for nothing records. Ramwhale is one of their worst. The main problem is the songwriting. There really isn't much in the way of recognizable songs, and what is here is all incredibly overstated and endlessly wanky. The solos go on beyond comprehension. Yes, these guys can play, but they're much better when they have melodies and verses to work with. Here, the songs seem to come about from the most basic ideas, a few howled lines, maybe a chorus. "Naked" is probably the only real winner, while the other songs wear on the ears. Claw Hammer went on to sign with Epitaph and later Interscope, but it was mostly on the strength of their live show and couldn't have had anything to do with this record, which they'd probably like to forget ever happened.