Mike Patton - Mondo Cane

Whenever Mike Patton puts out a record you can expect 2 things. First, that it'll be a little quirky. Second, that it will be good. Mondo Cane is pop music with punk attitude. It's Patton's cover record of Italian songs, all song in Italian. It's quirky enough to be a perfect fit for Patton but it's executed so well and the record is so beautiful you forget what you're listening to at times. The line between nice pop record and punk rock classic are blurred and every song is interesting.

Songs like Che Notte! and Urlo Negro feel like something you might hear on a Gogol Bordello record, punk furry blistering through them. But most of the record hints on the simple beauty that is in each song. From soft slow violin led pieces to full orchestra pop pieces to jazzy sounding selections. Il Cielo In Una Stanza the album opener will probably ring familiar to fans of the movie Goodfellas.

It sounds more like a Sinatra style throwback record more then anything but in Mike Patton's own weird way. It's an album I'd like to find on vinyl. It's one of the most interesting albums I've heard in years.