The Daily Spin II

TOBACCO | Sweatbox Dynasty

Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.

As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.

Album: Sweatbox Dynasty (2016)

Artist: TOBACCO

Link:

I’ll always hold a lot of respect for someone who is willing to be unrepentantly weird, even if that doesn’t necessarily jive with my own personal desires.

Rarely is an artist so deeply committed to the weird, though, as TOBACCO - both in this persona and as the frontman for Black Moth Super Rainbow. Over nearly two decades of work, it’s clear that if there’s one thing this man does well, it is avoiding normalcy.

From the off, Sweatbox Dynasty is classic TOBACCO - sawing synths, heaving keyboards, and the modulated vocals that have become so signature that they’re second-nature - and yet, the record lacks something. I can’t quite put my finger on it - whether it’s that the lyrics lack the same playfulness that previous works have had, or that this almost feels as though it carries the veneer of an album trying to blend into more popular scenes while also carrying an antagonistic sort of attitude to standard play.

This, really, is what hurts the album for me. When good, the album touches greatness, but too frequently loses itself to inconsistency. Without clear direction and lacking that cocksure oddness that made previous works so intriguing, this just kinda feels like a chameleon - doing a lot of things but ultimately fading into the background.

Rating: 6/10

Best Tracks: Gods In Heat

Worst Tracks: Fantasy Trash Wave