There is something about rural western Pennsylvania that seems to be inspiring some of the most innovative, and elusive, sounds to date. Leading the heavy beats is a man known only as Tobacco. For the better half of the decade he has been working under this moniker with various projects, and the past few years has seen him rise to cult fame dome with the electro-psych group Black Moth Super Rainbow. He is the man behind the ghostly percolated vocals and fractured instrumentations that give the band their unparalleled sound, and for Tobacco, it is his stamp on the music world.
Earlier this fall in October, Tobacco released his first solo effort aptly titled Fucked Up Friends. For fans of the man’s work, this is a welcomed addition as the familiar sounds are all there, but this time he comes charging with a heavier club thumping beat to add to the live drums that have always been a staple in his music. The record is filled with his sugary sweet ear candy and dragged out vocations like with “Hair Candy” and “Side 8”. The albums opener “Sweet Trash” hits hard with an intro that would make Trent Rezonor smile before infusing it with some of that Tobaccoie goodness. He also managed to score a huge collaboration with Aesop Rock on “Dirt” turning it into one of his best works. Every beat and chopped up mellotron moment is unique to this man and cannot be heard anywhere else in electronic music today, so if you are looking for the ultimate “out of this world” experience, check out Fucked Up Friends, and really anything else Tobacco has touched this past decade.
Check Out:
“Truck Sweat”
