Of all Mike Patton's side projects, Tomahawk had the potential to be most akin to his old, most successful band, Faith No More. But typically, with Patton's sick puppy tendencies, there were always maniacal outbursts amid the smouldering and sinister heaviness of the songs that made them beautifully challenging andmenacing. Though Oddfellows, the band's fourth album, is not their best record (that honour going to 2003's excellent Mit Gas), it's their most cohesive - even though it still manages to jerk your mind, body and soul all over the show with its sonic diversity. The slow-moving metal dissonance of the opening title track triggers a writhing, contorting and fascinating aural trip that sometimes gets physical on the likes of harrowing centrepiece The Quiet Few and the catchy dynamism of South Paw, which simmers and erupts similar to Mit Gas' Rape This Day - only with more of a straightforward rock 'n' roll attack.
But then Oddfellows can be romantic and eloquent on I.O.U. with the usually ominous Patton sounding sincere (almost) as he croons, "I owe you a love song, for everything I done wrong", before it ramps up into the thuggish, dancey math rock (driven by Battles drummer John Stanier) of White Hats/Black Hats. They sure are odd fellows, but some are worth getting to know better.
