Tag: Tobacco Gods In Heat

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as the frontman of renowned indie rock act Black Moth Super Rainbow, TOBACCO has developed a reputation as a solo artist, who crafts abrasive yet anthemic electronic music that channels Daft Punk,  The Black Keys, Kraftwerk and Boys Noize, but from some industrial, dystopian and fucked up future — perhaps immediately post Trump? — in which rusty and forgotten machinery and instruments whirr, mash and grind together.

Last year saw the release of Sweatbox Dynasty, the long awaited follow up to Ultima II Massage and while album singles “Gods In Heat,” “Human Om” and “Dimensional Hum” further cemented his reputation for scuzzy and abrasive electronic music, underneath the murky surface was a breezy and dreamy melodicism that added a strange, zen-like calm to the proceedings. Interestingly, TOBACCO recently released a stand-alone single “Get Wet in the Bomb Shelter” and the new single manages to sound as though it was a forgotten Sweatbox Dynasty B side, as the song consists of cascading layers of whirring and buzzing synths, stuttering and propulsive, boom bap-like drums and a glistening melody — and much like the material on Sweatbox Dynasty, the song upon repeated listens reveals a subtle push in a new sonic direction.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as the frontman of renowned indie act Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobaccco has developed a reputation as an electronic music artist and producer, who has an uncanny ability for crafting an abrasive yet anthemic sound — as a fellow critic at Stereogum  described Tobacco’s sound as wanting to “channel Daft Punk and The Black Keys at the same time.”

Sweatbox Dynasty, the long-awaited follow-up to Ultima II Massage is slated for release this summer, and the album’s first single “Gods In Heat” will further cement Tobacco’s reputation for crafting scuzzy and anthemic electronic music as his production pairs layers of buzzing and abrasive synths, industrial clang and clatter, skittering drum programming, surface-level analog tape hiss and sizzle, a chanted mantra and an infectious hook — but if you’re familiar with the Pennsylvania-based producer’s work, the new single possesses a subtle elements of psych rock that lighten the murkiness ever so slightly.