Tobacco F**ked Up Friends (Anticon)
4/5
By: Charlie Hearn
F**ked Up Friends is the first solo effort from Pennsylvanian producer Tobacco, of psychedelic electro collective Black Moth Super Rainbow. Favouring analogue synths and old tape machines over midi and macs, Tobacco successfully steers his ship clear from the pitfalls of more conventional takes on modern electronica. Instead, a much darker beast is unleashed, from the depths of the Pittsburgh forest that Tobacco is rumoured to record in, F**ked Up Friends emerges hissing and spitting with an array of Hip Hop tinged instrumentals that prove to be a welcome surprise.
Verging on offensive, the muddied synths of opener ‘Street Trash’ blend perfectly with the accompanying drum samples to generate 2 minutes of filthy audio goodness that suggest we’re onto a winner. The rest of the album continues in a very similar fashion, each new revelation providing a fresh slice of attitude that would sound just as much at home on an obscure EL-P off cut as it does here.
In fact it’s EL-P’s label mate at Def Jux, Aesop Rock who takes up the mantle and provides the only guest vocal on the whole album. It’s this appearance that proves to be in equal part the best and most frustrating element of F**ked Up Friends, crossing the boundary between a competent first effort and a potential classic. ‘Dirt’ is easily the most complete sounding track on the album, channelling the ruthlessly chaotic charm of the previous 8 into a loose structure that showcases the extensive talents of both the producer and the vocalist, without detracting from its overall appeal. Aesop Rock is the perfect choice, using the untraditional backing track as a spring board for his own eccentric style.
However, after relistening to a number of the previous songs, it’s not hard to start coming up with an extensive short list of rappers who you’d love to hear having a go at some of these beats. Before ‘Dirt’ this album was a solid collection of badass instrumentals but now it’s starting to sound like a selection of looped beats crying out to the more odd ball rhyme sayers of this world to make theirs. A fantastic first solo effort and a distinctively unique sound, all that’s missing is a few more f**ked up friends behind the microphone to make this a certified 5/5.
Artists in this article: Tobacco
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