As an early Faith No More fan I've also enjoyed following the fine works of Mike Patton through the ages.

Who Are Nevermen?

Nevermen is a group featuring Mike Patton (Faith No) (Mr.Bungle), Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) and Adam ''Doseone'' Drucker. The roots of this project were formed when Doseone collaborated on the song ''How u Feelin?'' with Mike on his Peeping Tom project in 2006.

A few years later, in 2008, Doseone and Adebimpe were hooking up doing some songs in New York City and the duo sent the work out to Patton. The trio worked on material in the following years, ultimately culminating in the debut self-titled album Nevermen in 2016. To further understand the group, let us explore the parties involved.

Nevermen album art, property of Ipecac Recordings. Nevermen cover art Ipecac Recordings

Tunde Adebimpe

While perhaps best known for his work as lead singer for TV on the Radio, Tunde Adebimpe also wears many hats, much like his fellow mates Mike Patton and Doseone. He has collaborated with artists such as Massive Attack and Yeah Yeah Yeahs' on recordings along with acting in films and television shows such as Portlandia, making a guest appearance as himself.

Tunde has a background as a cartoonist, self-publishing comic art and actually worked on the MTV claymation cartoon Celebrity Deathmatch in the late nineties. A very talented individual is Tunde, as he still works in art mediums as a designer creating works.

Mike Patton

The most high profile Nevermen member would have to be the one and only Mike Patton, best known for his vocal work in Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, and a long list of other groups, including all sorts of collaborations with eclectic artists like Sepultura and Bjork among others, and his own solo work.

Mike has also scored numerous films and has done movie soundtrack work, such as Crank: High Voltage. Patton also lends his voice for video games, as he is an avid player and fan of the genre.

Adam ''Doseone'' Drucker

Doseone has skills in the hip-hop and rap field, where he is known for his complex rhymes and rhythms, and sometimes performing on keyboards or synthesizers while kicking it on stage. Much like bandmates Tunde and Mike, Doseone has his finger in many pies as well, co-founding and running the hip-hop label Anticon where he collaborates with many artists on the label and producing his own albums. Doseone is also an accomplished artist working in animation and designing album cover art to name of few of his many other talents.



''How u Feelin'' video by Peeping Tom featuring Doseone

Nevermen Album

Nevermen is a self-proclaimed ''leaderless trio'', meaning there is no frontman or lead singer. The group molds all three voices together at once in various forms, sometimes two are together, sometimes one, with all of them dropping in and out with different parts and harmonies, and also molding together into the mix when needed. It really is hard to tell who is who sometimes with all of the complex layers which adds texture and keeps you on your toes and things interesting.



''Dark Ear'' kicks things off the Nevermen album with slamming grooves and a hip hop vocals in parts that foreshadow things to come effectively on the debut. Up next is ''Treat Em' Right'' and the song has more upbeat drums and falsetto style vocals thrown in for good measure.

The first single from Nevermen, ''Tough Towns'' seems to be lyrically about saving American cities, but seems to be a little vague and open to interpretations by the listener like other lyrics on Nevermen. It starts with some doo-wop style thumb snaps, with a mellow feel being accentuated when the beats kick in. Most definitely an album highlight.

''Mr. Mistake'' keeps Nevermen going in the right direction and is another highlight with more of the aforementioned mellow feels going on, adding in orchestration and acoustic guitar in parts. The song ''Shellshot'' brings up the intensity a little with awesome trade off rap parts between the guys for a more hip hop style. The Nevermen closer is ''Fame II The Wreckoning'' which starts low key and then kicks in with drums that give it an 80's pop feel at the end of the track.

The First Single, ''Tough Towns'' by Nevermen

Boards Of Canada

Scotish electronic duo Boards of Canada got involved with Nevermen, doing some different remix versions of the track ''Mr. Mistake, one being with vocals and the other entirely instrumental. Both versions do a great job of enhancing the song with a cool chill vibe that takes the song to new places with the extra sounds.

''Mr. Mistake'' by Nevermen (Boards of Canada Remix)

Thoughts on Nevermen

I thought the Nevermen debut was promising, some cool positive music to chill to and give an upbeat vibe. It's great summer music, and I think the vocal concepts are cool with the artists involved working so well as a team. You can tell there are no egos involved in the project. Hopefully, more collaborations can follow in the future.

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