PEEPING TOM is yet another project in the assembly line of musical ideas that is Mike Patton, pioneering vocalist of FAITH NO MORE, Mr. BUNGLE, and TOMAHAWK. He’s known for his unconventional voice and genre-bending bands, and that attitude is carried over in this new project, which features guests on every track. It’s hard to define the music here; its influence seems to draw mostly from soul and hip hop with some dabbling in rock and Latin music. “Five Seconds” opens up the album with an electronic feel and the patented (or at least they should be) spastic vocals that Mike is known for. “Mojo” has a hip hop beat and a more linear melody featuring the human turntable Rahzel and production whiz Dan the Automator. The frustrating thing is that the album never feels sure of itself as to whether it wants to embrace an entirely produced-beats medium of hip hop, or use the live instrumentation of rock. “Don’t Even Trip” is notable only for this line, “I know that assholes grow on trees/ I’m here to trim the leaves”. One example out of two where the lyrics are the only good thing about a song.
“Getaway” features the eccentric rapper Kool Keith who spits a sub-par verse with a lopsided delivery. One of the few good songs, “Your Neighborhood Spaceman”, is a soulful track that has Patton go from some light singing to rapping furiously before returning back to a mellower sound. “Caipirinha” is a Spanish-inflected song where Patton duets with Bebel Gilberto over acoustic strumming and some loud synthesizers in the chorus. The most big-name guest appearance comes from Norah Jones on “Sucker”. The only fun thing about this song is hearing the Grammy darling/mellow jazz piano singer say “motherfucker” and “Keep it in your pants”. “We’re Not Alone” has a strong chorus due to Patton’s melodies, saving an otherwise bland song. If you’re all about Mike Patton, then you probably already picked this up, but there aren’t enough good songs here to bring others listeners back for a second time.
