Thomas Fec started his Tobacco alter ego to create music that ultimately feels darker, denser and more sinister than that of his main gig as vocalist of the psychedelic electro purveyors Black Moth Super Rainbow. As BMSR have slowed their output throughout this decade, Fec has seemingly melded their elements into his Tobacco project, and Sweatbox Dynasty comes off as his most accessible, pop-leaning release to date.
With 12 tracks and a run time of just 30 minutes, much of Tobacco's fourth solo LP almost sounds incomplete at times, but Fec somehow makes it work to his advantage, as tracks like "Hong," "Fantasy Trash Wave" and "Let's Get Worn Away" deliberately sound broken, tampered with or just plain fucked up, much like a Tim and Eric sketch put to wax. But as much as Sweatbox Dynasty shoots for decaying, warped synth rhythms, Tobacco can't hide his penchant for sleek melodies, as "Human Om," "Home Invasionaries" and "Dimensional Hum" stand as some of his most listenable, digestible and memorable tracks.
As confrontational and subversive as Tobacco remains on Sweatbox Dynasty, he simply has too clear of a vision at this point in his career to hide the fact that his default writing style is catchy, effective and well-rounded.
(Ghostly International)With 12 tracks and a run time of just 30 minutes, much of Tobacco's fourth solo LP almost sounds incomplete at times, but Fec somehow makes it work to his advantage, as tracks like "Hong," "Fantasy Trash Wave" and "Let's Get Worn Away" deliberately sound broken, tampered with or just plain fucked up, much like a Tim and Eric sketch put to wax. But as much as Sweatbox Dynasty shoots for decaying, warped synth rhythms, Tobacco can't hide his penchant for sleek melodies, as "Human Om," "Home Invasionaries" and "Dimensional Hum" stand as some of his most listenable, digestible and memorable tracks.
As confrontational and subversive as Tobacco remains on Sweatbox Dynasty, he simply has too clear of a vision at this point in his career to hide the fact that his default writing style is catchy, effective and well-rounded.