Oops, he did it again. Mike Patton, this time with ex-Jesus Lizard guitarist, just made the most modern rock record this year. By far. Patton himself seems to think this is a straight ahead rock record. He is deluded by his genius. This is updated ‘King for a day’-era Faith No More mixed with the more mature crooning of Patton's work Mr Bungle et la. Lyrically, it’s a vile, scabrous feast of pedophilia, masturbation, and rimming mixed with heartfelt longing and hopefulness. This is alt-country Patton style. So the live act is HomoCowboy friendly. Obviously the thinking is "if I’m going to do a straight ahead rock record then I have to twist it." So, it’s twisted. But now we’re all familiar with the twist, and we’re just as sick as him; the album just rocks along in radio friendly way. Oh, I jest.
Highlights for me were "The Sweet Smell of Success" which had me hooked straight away. It cheered me up. No mean feat. It will bring forth a euphoric feeling during the many peaks in the track. Also, classic Patton dark comedy moments in "God Hates a Coward": "God, Hates a Coward, Sonn / Put another tape in your VCR / watch another action movie / and dream of me." It’s just the Patton voice, sarcastic and all knowing. Laredo is just blistering with the lyric, "The cats in the bag / and bag’s in the river." The best part is that I’ve only scratched the surface here. I think it’s the best album this year. Last Christmas I gave you my heart. The very next day…… 1. Flashback
2. 101 North
3. Point and Click
4. God Hates a Coward
5. Pop 1
6. Sweet Smell of Success
7. Sir Yes Sir
8. Jockstrap
9. Cul de Sac
10. Malocchio
11. Honeymoon
12. Laredo
13. Narcosis