UMUR
"Peeping Tom" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by electronic pop/rock act Peeping Tom. The album was released through Ipecac Recordings in May 2006. Peeping Tom is a project founded around the turn of the millenium by singer Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk...etc.) and it´s in his own words his vision of how pop music could be...
...let´s establish right away though, that the material on "Peeping Tom" is not what most people would perceive as pop music. It´s accessible, vers/chorus structured, and for the most part relatively memorable electronic pop/rock with strong hip hop and trip hop leanings, but it´s not the kind of music you´ll normally hear on mainstream radio. At least not in this format. Patton can create smooth and melodic song lines and choruses, but he can´t help himself incorporating experimental ideas and noise, which would prevent mainstream radio from ever playing this. Which is of course great for those of us who crave our pop/rock with a twist.
The material was created by Patton in his home studio with specific guests in mind, and when he had finished writing a tune, digital files were send to the guest musician (mostly singers/rappers and DJs), who then recorded their parts, which were send back to Patton, who could then complete the track. Some of the guest musicians on the album include Norah Jones, Massive Attack, and Dan the Automator.
Lead single "Mojo" is an infectiously catchy and melodic song, with a soaring memorable chorus. It´s definitely a standout track on the album, and also the most accessible and melodic track here. The remaining tracks range from great to a little more standard in quality in terms of memorable songwriting. The musicianship is on a high level and the tracks are relatively well produced too. I say relatively here, because some of the drum programming sounds used, do sound a little dated today (in 2024), but if you enjoy 90s albums by artists like Massive Attack, Tricky, and Unkle I´m sure the sound production won´t bother you. Overall it´s a good quality release and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is fair.