So Tobacco. The man behind Black Moth Super Rainbow and the Macho man behind anything and everything Tobacco. This is the third installment; Maniac Meat. Substance abuse is more than apparent throughout this entire album, as everything ranges from psychedelic to hip hop, to even more psychedelic and more hip hop. This album has dug itself deep into my heart and has found a cozy spot to stay there. Lets begin the track by track breakdown of the album.
1. Constellation Dirtbike Head- Okay... The first song ever with Tobacco using live drums (or at least samples of them) with a new vocoder effect...makes for one of the best introductions to an album I've ever heard. This is a clear sign of what the rest of the album is going to be like. A more intense, heavily layered album just pretty much grabs the listener and shakes them fairly violently. At about 1:50, we hear a noisier Tobacco we've never heard before, letting the instruments lead the vocals, not the other way around as before.
2. Fresh Hex- A fun track featuring who? Beck! Beck's back with the random train of thought and it sounds nicer than ever. The track is so Tobacco but it's nice to hear some strangely fitting vocals. Theres a bit more to that track than meets...the ears? Pay close attention. Colosseum.
3. Mexican Icecream- A much popier sound to the track. Popier as in literally, there are pop like sounds throughout the track. This is the first track that also really shows off the Micro Korg's many vocoder effects. The deep, raw voice mixed with delay and echo makes it very...trippy; the least trippy track but a clear sign of what's sure to come. Very noisy, very nice.
4. Lick The Which- A deep, slow introduction. And then an intense god-knows-what effect. A fluttering sound with Korg in the back and a lot of live bass done by the T- man himself. This track features lyrics about taking LSD and it is more than a bit obvious. The title itself is Lick The Which! The sweeping organ effect makes way for a very Black Moth like outro.
5. Sweatmother- Probably the raunchiest track on the album. The song features a drum line that seems to come straight out of a hot east LA day, rolling around with aggression. The layered vocal effects and broken guitar are just too dirty; a new face of an intense Tobacco. Then all hell breaks loose with the noisiest segment on the entire album, then drops; just like that.
6. Motorlicker- Oh god the bass...I love this song to no end. This track almost seems to be pulled out of an acid trip ;) Deep bass, rumbling Korg roars, fitted nicely with an elegant piano. The lyrics are perfectly airy. This track is sure to make you headbob quite a bit.
7. Unholy Demon Rhythms- Almost exactly what the title is. This track doesn't seem too special at first but a close listen reveals the beat is all samples of a mouth. And the rising and falling noises are strange in that they seem to give themselves a bit of lag before fully erupting. Followed by a melody of high pitched "diiiiing" noises, the track finishes.
8. Heavy Makeup- This track has so many surprises, it's not even funny. Tobacco really hauled himself on this track. This track sounds closer to the Constellation Dirtbike Head. at about 0:55, we hear all the vocoder effects he's been playing with and dear lord do they sound sexy. " You feel free when you're killin' me" fits almost too well. The sampled drums also help to give the track almost a too heavily layered track. Almost as if the track is wearing a lot of...heavy makeup?! At 2:40, we dip down into a groovier segment and then BAM! The intensely slowed down track. but wait, it's different. This segment is slightly different than the rest of the track and the roaring, deep vocals are almost terrifying. It sounds as if a measly human is looking up at some devilish figure in the sky ;). Definitely one of the best tracks on the album.
9. Grape Aerosmith- Along with a funny name, more Beck! This track sounds more unified and more something we would expect on a Tobacco album. A strange rhythm follows heavily layered vocals that sound as if they are being wildly altered live.
10. New Juices From The Hot Tub Freaks- An almost scary introduction gives way for a fun, loud hip hop track. This is different from the rest of the tracks but is a mile stone track. In that, it clearly shows the transition from the roaring hip hop and loud into the second half of the album which is more LSD induced sounding, bassier, and a more passionate Tobacco.
11. Six Royal Vipers- A simple scale with piano creates a nice, yet dark setting. The vocals are probably the best part, because of; just... the sheer sense of emotion in them. The vocals laid over a desperate sounding effect is beautiful. And again at about 1:18, the listener is surprised. The rest of the track sounds strangely emotional and sincere. Excuse me, but it's a fuckin good track. And clearly well done.
12. Overheater- Again, exactly like the title. The type of feeling you would expect when you feed something too much power; roaring down the road, engine being exhausted. Helped with the intense up and down roars that almost dissipate when the vocals kick in. At about 1:28, the noises completely drop and are just a perfect end to the track.
13. Creepy Phone Calls- Hmmm, this sounds familiar. Oh wait, it's almost the exact same track as the HEALTH/ Tobacco Remix track of Die Slow! Anyway, the booming bass that shakes things off shelves sounds great fuzzed out and along side raw bass guitar and broken noises for the chorus. This is a very fun track to listen to and tries to keep only that face. There are no special meanings or anything, just fun. However! at about 2:40, we do get to hear some raw bass guitar done by the T- Man. Not a joke, but a very laid back approach to professional recording as we can even hear a knock on the mic. Very amateur; very good.
14. TV All Greasy- The deepest bass drop by far on the album accompanied by the highest, most mono sounding drumming just makes the listener feel like a bad ass. The type of track strutting down an open walkway, showing off a bit. This is also one of the dirtier songs, along with Sweatmother. At 1:50, the progressive drop in effects takes place to make way for the oh-so-noisy last third of the track. Rising and falling Korg along with horribly blown bass is just too perfect. And once again, it becomes familiar Tobacco ending in a simplified rhythm similar to one like before.
15. Stretch Your Face- Almost measly bass is actually nice in this track. Echoed vocoder leading up to the "Oh" almost makes it as if the entire world just disappeared and you are falling through a tunnel of color, only to be brought back up and do it again ;). Very simple but the influences of drugs such as LSD are more than obvious but fit so perfectly into the album. This is also one of the last two tracks on the album, and seems to be a summary of the album, but more heavily echoed and intense.
16. Nuclear Waste Aerobics- Perfect title! This track is dirty in the sense that there is purely so much going on. Very raunchy and a bit of a surprise when expecting an end to a Tobacco album. Very fun to listen to.
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