Peeping Tom “Peeping Tom” Review
Mike Patton’s latest in a laundry list of projects, Peeping Tom, comes as an enthusiastic look at further diversification of a man’s sound and musical path. The expansive list of guest spots on the album creates a sense of duality within the album, allowing it to be downright experimental at times and at others highly listenable. Prior history shows Patton’s true chameleon-like quality when recording with others as one of his most enviable qualities, allowing him to mold and lend his broad vocal variation to a variety of scenarios. For historic Patton fans this album will settle a little different than past noise-based offerings, as Patton himself calls this his version of pop-radio, “I don’t listen to the radio, but if I did, this is what I’d want it to sound like. This is my version of pop music. In a way, this is an exercise for me: taking all these things I’ve learned over the years and putting them into a pop format. I’ve worked with many people who have said to me, ‘oh you have a pop record in you, eventually you’ll find it,’ and I always laughed at them. I guess I owe them an apology.” Not much of an apology should be needed however as Patton’s pop record is still undeniably a Mike Patton production.
The first single from the album, “Mojo,” comes as one of the smoothest collaborations on the album, combining Patton’s low growling vocals and a test of his falsetto with Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Rahzel. More important is the obvious contrast between this track and its predecessor, “Five Seconds.” The album’s lead-off track is an absolute vocal whirlwind which builds up slowly before exploding in its post-industrial conclusion. In some ways “Five Seconds” is an outlier and completely unrepresentative of the album. However, in some ways, it’s an absolutely perfect depiction of things to come with the album. Its lighter introduction carries over into the Amon Tobin collaboration “Don’t Even Trip,” and it’s heavier themes are a perfect introduction for, believe it or not, “Sucker” featuring Norah Jones.
Unlike many albums which mix the unique abilities of many artists, Peeping Tom wasn’t physically recorded as such. Being the brainchild of an alternative icon, it was arranged as such, in an unconventional method, without many of the artists actually meeting; “Plenty of people on the record are still complete strangers to me” Patton remarks. This is incredible, not merely because of the physical production ability needed to mesh the various contributions recorded separately, but because of something far more important. As previously mentioned, Patton has a sort of chameleon-like quality, in which he is vocally and musically able to fit in within the terms and confines of many genres. The amazing part of Peeping Tom is how the guests were able to do the same. The parts Patton writes allows each individual to step out of their given comfort zones and challenge themselves. The Norah Jones track, “Sucker,” is one such track in which Patton gives Jones the lyrical freedom to explore a deeper sexually evil character, far from her typical moody jazz-crooner type performances. And like Jones, the other guest musicians do a remarkable job at filling their given positions perfectly.
Like much of Patton’s prior outfits Peeping Tom’s purpose isn’t to shock or gloat musical elitism. “We’re Not Alone” could stand with any modern rock track currently in high rotation. Not simply because of its blend of deft guitar and, dare I say, Faith No More vocals, but because it alludes to the true spirit of the musicians performing the song. Like many tracks on the album it slows down and allows its fragile parts to breathe before solidifying the track as a trademark Patton piece. Peeping Tom is as much a musical deviation for Patton as it is for many of the guest artists which successfully comes off as a smooth yet savage display of what pop music might possibly be missing.
