Released in 1985 on 4AD, The Wolfgang Press' Sweatbox 12'' EP (BAD506) is a four-track, post-punk mini-album, often noted for its mature, moody, and hip-hop influenced sound. Featuring tracks like "Heart of Stone" and "I'm Coming Home," it showcases the band's development in reconstructing pop conventions with a dark, atmospheric, and often rhythmic edge. The EP represents a maturation in sound, described as a "funk workout" with a "spacious, hypnotic, and ominous" feel. It is a prime example of their 1980s 4AD collaboration. The 12" includes the title track "Sweatbox," along with "Muted," "Heart of Stone," and "I'm Coming Home (Mama)". It sits between their earlier work and later albums, with reviewers noting it as a vital, "dark and uncompromising" release that showcases the band's unique,, often misunderstood, musical path.
The tide came in for "Scarecrow", revealing a new, potent Wolfgang Press. But the tide went out for "Water", an EP that sounded underdeveloped by comparison. Well, the sea has returned. "Sweatbox" kicks off with the interlocking rhythmic interplay of "Heart of Stone", Allen ranting on all cylinders:
a thousand heads they talk in rhyme
their useless words commit no crime
a case of mindless intuition
a case of finding inner vision
I drop a bomb; you drive a car
and when we crack, we crack so hard
the nurses come to hear our stories
these flowers talk
our flowers talk
Once again the Wolfgang Press incorporate numerous references to musical influences, like a shimmering mirage of the past. "I'm Coming Home (Mama)" sounds much like "Cut The Tree" with some deadpan hilarious lyrics. The acoustic guitar on this and the previous song provide some much-needed textural variety. Meanwhile, trumpet returns from "Ecstacy". I'd say the band is adept at including just enough change and forward momentum, just enough repetition and retrograde churning. Though far from disco, "Sweatbox" aims for the dance floor, the mix not doing the song any favours. "Muted" is a take on Joy Division, with circular drums and sawing violin.
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