You’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s been a long time between drinks for Mike Patton. Best known for heading Faith No More during the 90’s, he entered a period of relative commercial obscurity when the band went their separate ways. He has been keeping himself busy however, working on side projects such as Fantomas and his old band Mr Bungle, an outfit well known for their unconventional and iconoclastic approach to music. Peeping Tom is arguably his most ambitious project since his Faith No More days, causing quite a splash not only due to Patton’s involvement, but also to the collaborations with artists as diverse as Rahzel and Kool Keith through to Massive Attack and Norah Jones. It’s enough to whet the appetite - Patton’s distinctive and wide ranging vocals in combination with the skills of all those working with him certainly sounds great on paper.

Things open well with Five Seconds, featuring Arabic inspired drums, eerie synth melodies and a thrashy rapid chorus mashed in the middle that does well to show the direction the rest of the album travels in. Mojo (with Rahzel and Dan the Automator) follows on, a mix of heavy chords and hip hop beats that works for the most part, but fails to capitalise on the skills of Rahzel who sounds too subdued for my liking. Many of the songs have a similar sound to these first two, with beats that are dirty and industrial, and much of the album has a macabre feel to it that evokes the vibe of a spooky abandoned amusement park on the wrong side of the tracks, the kind of place to stay away from at night.

Overall, the sound of Peeping Tom owes more to hip hop than to metal, which works excellently on How U Feelin? (with Doseone), with Patton’s recognisable style fitting in nicely. Caipirinha, a breezy Latin number, is OK in a random, unexpected kind of way. The biggest surprise is the Norah Jones collaboration Sucker, with Jones taking her voice away from her usual “Mother's Day gift” territory into a much dirtier and sexier place, giving surprisingly good results. Kill the DJ (with Massive Attack) is another standout track featuring deep basslines and a rocking chorus where Patton’s voice shines.

Not everything works though, which is a shame. Certain parts of the album suffer from simply too much going on at once, sounding overproduced or just unmemorable, such as the partnership with Kid Koala on Celebrity Death Match. The whole album would benefit from more cohesiveness – too many otherwise good things can be attempted in one song that it can become a mess, like when you mix many colours of paint together and end up with brown.

There’s a lot going on in Peeping Tom, and while it’s a bit of a mixed bag there’s a lot to like. Patton’s vocals are as excellent and varied as ever and fans of his previous body of work should enjoy it, as long as they aren’t expecting it to sound like Faith No More – the closing track Were Not Alone is as close to that as it gets. Unfortunately it’s all over too soon at a shade over 45 minutes, but despite this and other shortcomings, Peeping Tom is an interesting, diverse release that marks an important milestone in Patton’s long and colourful career.

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Tracklisting
1. Five Seconds
2. Mojo
3. Don't Even Trip
4. Getaway
5. Your Neighborhood
6. Spaceman
7. Kill The DJ
8. Caipirinha
9. Celebrity Death Match
10. How U Feelin?
11. Sucker
12. We're Not Alone