One tends to associate ambient music with serenity, but of course ambient sound is merely atmospheric noise. It can be a songbird singing or a glass shattering. Fantomas is ambiance at its most annoying--which, of course, is the mission of this cacophonous California supergroup. Spearheaded by former Mr. Bungle and Faith No More member Mike Patton and fleshed out with bassist Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle), guitarist Buzz Osbourne (Melvins), and drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Fantomas impudently mix crunching hardcore riffs with serpentine fake-jazz lines, silent-film and cartoon-soundtrack asides, and alarming sound effects. Patton treats his vocal cords as a fourth instrument; he doesn't really sing, and what he intones aren't actual words. Rather, he sputters gibberish. With Patton's affection for the work of Warner Bros. cartoon composer Raymond Scott in mind, imagine the Tasmanian Devil as a scat singer. For Fantomas, it all adds up to ambient music for the unhinged. --Steven Stolder