Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom is being billed as Mike Patton’s most accessible work since his days in Faith No More. One glance at the list of big name collaborators serves willing proof. Here, Patton works with Dan the Automator, Amon Tobin, Kool Keith, Massive Attack, Kid Koala, Doseone, Bebel Gilberto, Dub Trio, and – get ready for it – even Norah Jones. Whether all this namedropping is a cause for celebration or a belated bid to catch the distracted ears of a mainstream that has long since stopped paying attention is anyone’s call. The tall stack of Patton-related albums that have come out over the years will attest to the fact that he’s never been all that comfortable with being accessible; in fact, the weirder he gets, the closer he is to genius. Sadly, Peeping Tom is no exception to that rule. Recorded over three years, and in between more enjoyable recordings by Fantômas and Tomahawk, as well as questionable turns with Lovage and the X-Ecutioners, Peeping Tom is an understandably disjointed effort that tries to evolve a tired rap rock dichotomy. Instead, the album turns in only limp bizkits. The collaborations may have made for fun times in the studio, but the recorded results are not that memorable.