''Adult Themes for Voice'' is a 1996 album by Mike Patton. Recorded in hotel rooms while touring as a member of

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

, the album is solely composed of vocal sounds arranged as

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

. Released on

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

's Tzadik Records label, the album has largely met with negative reviews citing its abstruse and inaccessible nature.

Production

''Adult Themes for Voice'' is composed entirely of sounds produced vocally by Mike Patton, featuring no other instrumentation. The compositions include sounds described as "harsh scraping noises, squeaks, and underwater sounds". Patton recalled similar vocal experimentation from his childhood, first having taught himself to sing by imitating non-verbal sounds, and later being gifted a record by his parents which he described as "this little flexi-disc of mouth sounds, like guys that could make odd sounds. I don't know why they gave it to me, but that was one of my favourite records". The album was recorded in various hotel rooms while on tour as a member of

, using a TASCAM four-track Portastudio.

Release and reception

''Adult Themes for Voice'' was released on April 23, 1996, on Tzadik Records. Tzadik is operated by

, a long-time collaborator with Patton. AllMusic's Greg Prato rated the album three stars out of five, stating "there isn't a note of music on the album; it's essentially noise". Prato noted that the music's composition meant that songs flowed into each other "as a continuous piece", and could not point out any specific highlights as a result. Writing for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', Joe Smith-Englehardt has described the album as "noise for the sake of noise", noting Patton's "incredibly unique vocals". Simon Young, writing for '' Kerrang!'', described both ''Adult Themes for Voice'' and Patton's follow-up, '' Pranzo Oltranzista'', as "expensive lessons in buyer’s remorse". Writing in the book ''Avant Rock: Experimental Music from the Beatles to Bjork'', philosophy professor Bill Martin compared the album to Yoko Ono's 1971 release ''

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'', and to the vocal techniques of Cathy Berberian and

Joan La Barbara Joan Linda La Barbara (born June 8, 1947) is an American vocalist and composer known for her explorations of non-conventional or "extended" vocal techniques. Considered to be a vocal virtuoso in the field of contemporary music, she is credited wi ...

. Martin described the album as "quite radical", but questioned whether it would appeal to any particular audience.

Track listing

Footnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adult Themes For Voice 1996 debut albums Mike Patton albums Tzadik Records albums