Peeping Tom
by Peeping Tom
  • Record Label: Ipecac
  • Release Date: May 30, 2006
Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 22
  3. Negative: 3 out of 22
  1. Observer Music Monthly
    60
    The end result sounds much like the Red Hot Chili Peppers produced by Massive Attack.
  2. Q Magazine
    60
    Many of the collaborations are jarring. [Jul 2006, p.115]
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  3. Rolling Stone
    60
    Yields plenty of oddly seductive moments. [10 Aug 2006, p.99]
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  5. Entertainment Weekly
    50
    Once you get past the shock tactics, Peeping Tom is little more than a pile of dated Linkin Park-style sludge. [2 Jun 2006, p.83]
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  6. The New York Times
    50
    Given his abrasive experimentations with Mr. Bungle and Fantômas, his fascination with mildly skewed beatscapes is a surprise, fun but passé. [29 May 2006]
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  7. Prefix Magazine
    50
    Peeping Tom's almost exclusively synth-oriented songs (save the occasional bass and guitar) are ostensibly intended to highlight Patton's voice. This only accentuates his overwrought yet indifferent performances, however.
  8. Drowned In Sound
    50
    It holds some charms, but Peeping Tom is overshadowed by Patton’s previous work.
  9. The Boston Phoenix
    50
    The effect is as scattershot as the guest list.
  10. Mojo
    40
    Only the faithful need apply. [Jul 2006, p.101]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
  1. JoshC
    Sep 16, 2007
    0
    Few musicians since Frank Zappa have confused "performance" with "self-indulgence" quite like former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton. The Few musicians since Frank Zappa have confused "performance" with "self-indulgence" quite like former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton. The noisy freakouts of Fantomas and Tomahawk are daring but all too often unbearably dissonant. The Beach-Boys-by-way-of-Black-Sabbath collage Mr. Bungle could be a delight, but was also a bit too goofy to be adored. As Patton's weirdo excursions are the very paradigm of "great in small doses," he works best as a collaborator adding growls and shrieks to tracks by Björk, Dan The Automator, Massive Attack, and others. So hopes for the highly collaborative Peeping Tom project are high: the guest spots are numerous and impressive (Amon Tobin! Kool Keith!), or at the very least, intriguing (Norah Jones!), and the record has been billed as Mike Patton's most accessible album since the days of Faith No More. Could this be Patton's Apostrophe or Cruising With Ruben And The Jets to make up for his years of Lumpy Gravy-esque weirdness? Nope. Instead, Patton's "pop" album is a collection of infantile, forgettable stripper anthems. After years of the vocal acrobatics of Fantomas, I wonder if Mike Patton remembers what rock singers are supposed to do exactly. Schizo opener "Five Seconds" shimmies like Ween imitating Prince before spazzing out into a slam-dance chorus counting the one, two, three, four, "five seconds to live." If only the listener were so lucky. "Five Seconds" is supposed to sound bad-ass, but it just sounds hokey… Full Review »
  2. IllmaticNaS
    Aug 17, 2006
    10
    An awesome, experimental album. But then again, it's Mike Patton, so that's a given. And great guests, too. Kool Keith and Dan the An awesome, experimental album. But then again, it's Mike Patton, so that's a given. And great guests, too. Kool Keith and Dan the Automator. Awesome. This who album completely blows away anything in rock, trip hop, or punk released lately. I mean, just listen to the reheated, rehashed bull that's been coming out lately. Mike is refreshing burst of originality, as usual. And screw Entertainment!! LINKIN PARK? Are you serious? Has that critic even heard a Linkin Park album? Mike Patton never has and never will sound like Linkin Park, and this album is no different. The fact that you would even compare the two artist is ridiculous and offensive. Linkin Park rehashes the same old nu-metal. Mike doesn't.… Full Review »
  3. Marie-PierreP
    Aug 11, 2006
    10
    EXCELLENT!!!! Very original...very Mike Patton!
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