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Ultima II Massage Image
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 10 Ratings

  • Summary: The third full-length release for Thomas Fec as Tobacco is his first on the Ghostly label.
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  • Record Label: Ghostly International
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Electronic, Noise Pop
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. May 13, 2014
    80
    Another subtle evolution of Fec’s homogenous sound palette, Ultima II Massage is a reason to keep you coming back 11 years into his career to witness him experiment with his inimitable aesthetic.
  2. May 12, 2014
    80
    Ultima II Massage is a uniquely Black Moth and Tobacco experience to be sure, and anyone who's been exposed to their odd and wonderful world in the past will find this album to be among the best things to come out of it.
  3. May 15, 2014
    75
    It's challenging, and it does get a little repetitive, but it's a grand ambition and one that Fec mostly pulls off.
  4. 70
    Tobacco has done a fine job of crafting tracks which are different enough so as to not all blend together.
  5. May 14, 2014
    70
    Not exactly a massage, but a wind-down from the tumult that is Ultima II Massage.
  6. May 12, 2014
    70
    Ultima II Massage marks a fresh direction for this always-challenging supervillain.
  7. May 19, 2014
    58
    Some of the harshness seems a little forced.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. Jul 24, 2019
    10
    This is the perfect Tobacco album, in a lot of ways. It's also the worst in a lot of ways. Everything in the album feels one note, but theThis is the perfect Tobacco album, in a lot of ways. It's also the worst in a lot of ways. Everything in the album feels one note, but the sound is so satisfyingly brought to life and killed right in front of you that you just can't stop listening.

    The best way I could describe this album is like doing laundry, but intentionally washing pinks and reds with whites and blues on hot and shoving it all into the dryer on the roughest setting without a dryer sheet. That's probably because it so perfectly encapsulates organized chaos so well that you can find the destruction overwhelmingly soothing and meditative. Every misstep, every off beat, every chord that's meant to catch you off guard feels so deliberate, so impactful and yet so improvised that it's hard to find yourself surprised when this album affixes you in a trance of it's own design. Every listen solidifies these decisions as a perfectly balanced masterpiece. This may be one of the best, most consistent albums ever made from start to finish. Some might argue it's for this reason it's one of the worst Tobacco albums. However, every decision made on every single track is literal perfection as it leads from one song to the next, as if the precipice of Thomas's work leading up to this had been holding back it's electric grime for one last moment to spew it all out at once in a Pollack-esque explosion on a scratched up tape. While I don't think there's much narrative or meaning to be garnered from this album, the uniqueness of the aesthetic sound, and the mastery of its execution is so harrowing it transcends the need.

    This album shows a technical mastery over a texture of sounds that is so terrifying that if you were to blast Streaker on your car stereo with the windows down on the highway everyone would immediately slow down, give you distance and rubberneck like a terrible accident had just happened. When I listen to this album, I am given the feeling like I'm destroying something deep within myself, and I'm doing it in the most satisfying way possible. In many ways, this album makes you hunger desperately for more, while it spends the whole time telling you you've definitely had enough. This album is garbage, and it's a masterpiece.
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  2. May 16, 2014
    9
    Every track sounds broken. Gloriously broken. I've been a fan of Tobacco/BMSR for years, and have never heard anything quite like this. It'sEvery track sounds broken. Gloriously broken. I've been a fan of Tobacco/BMSR for years, and have never heard anything quite like this. It's quite good. Expand
  3. May 13, 2014
    2
    This album is the epitome of an artist that is regressing in his work. As a fan of Tobacco's previous LPs, this one doesn't live up to myThis album is the epitome of an artist that is regressing in his work. As a fan of Tobacco's previous LPs, this one doesn't live up to my expectations at all. It's a dull, lethargic, half-hearted attempt that leaves me disappointed and completely unfulfilled. Collapse