Peeping Tom CD review

Peeping Tom—self titled (Ipecac Recordings)
Genius, prolific, totally insane… Many are the adjectives used when describing the ever enigmatic but seemingly inexhaustible Mike Patton. And many are the bands he’s been a part of—Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantomas, Lovage, and his most recent solo project (kind of) Peeping Tom. However, due to the level on which Patton functions, rarely does the adjective “accessible” come into play; that is, until now. The self-titled Peeping Tom album was written almost entirely by Patton; however, he did so with multiple possible collaborators in mind to add some finishing touches and interesting accents to his pieces. Some of these partners in crime include: Massive Attack, Doseone, and even Norah Jones. But make no mistake, this album is driven by Patton’s rhythmic and vocal prowess almost entirely, and his cross-trained musical skills are always on display. On track one alone, entitled “Five Seconds,” Patton is responsible for no less than the vocals, programming, bass, guitars, percussion, keyboards, samples, synthesizers, harpsichord, and turntables. Inspiring. But make no mistake—while being an assured credit to his multi-faceted abilities, this album is no simple ego-flex for Patton. Each tune is catchy, powerful, and immediately accessible, yet layered enough for them to last an indefinite amount of spins. Now if that crazy bastard Patton would just write a self-help book for apathetic musicians…     
 
Review by Jason Isbell