by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

April Fool's Day may have passed, but we can still look forward to semi-official events this month like International Jugglers' Day (April 18), Kindergarten Day (April 21) and of course April 26, which is both Richter Scale Day and, in the U.S., National Pretzel Day. No wonder former Faith No More/Mr. Bungle mouthpiece Mike Patton and his pals in Fantômas (big-haired Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, Slayer's Dave Lombardo and fellow Bungler Trevor Dunn) salute the fourth month with their latest release. A cheerful counterpoint to its lugubrious predecessor Delerium Cordia, Suspended Animation doubles as a frenzied exploration of the sonic side of cartoons, a rapid-fire stew of honk and tweets, precision metal fury, toy-store tonalities and Patton's patented abstract vocal tricks.

Mirror: Suspended Animation is built on two premises, cartoon soundtracks and the month of April, which aren't entirely incongruous - especially if April is in fact "national humour and anxiety month" - but certainly distinct. How did that happen?

Mike Patton: Oooooh, a series of accidents, I would say, none of which have anything to do with music (laughs). I save packaging, concepts and visuals till the last possible minute. I think it's important to tie image and packaging in with music, especially music that's difficult to navigate. It gives you a clear picture of what we're doing, which can be quite abstract. I asked this illustrator Nara to do the package, he said yes and then, all of a sudden, he drops 30 illustrations in my lap. Thirty! I had to jump in the lake with him - I didn't want to just pick the best ones and throw the rest away. So, in trying to incorporate the number 30, I decided a calendar might be the most fun way. I chose the month of April because it has 30 days, and it also has some of the more bizarre holidays. Really, this record is like a little vacation for us, a holiday from what we normally do - it's fun, lighthearted, playful and innocent. It should sound and feel like a romper room.

M: The tribute to April makes sense, working from the number 30, that makes sense, but I'd guess the cartoon-soundtrack aspect would have had to be there from the beginning.

MP: Oh, yeah! Sound effects and narrative have always been present in our music. There's a lot of room for interpretation there, and I wanted to specifically designate that space of the band to fun sounds, childhood sounds. So you find nursery rhymes in there, you find obvious and not so obvious cartoon samples, lots and lots of children's toys. That was all there from the very beginning.

M: The album achieves what I recognize in the best cartoon soundtracks - and more so than any other kind of soundtrack music. At their best, like Carl Stalling's work, they achieve a harmonization, a cooperation between the music and sound effects and voices, to create a definite rhythmic logic out of what is generally a manic, almost chaotic scenario with abrupt shifts in mood. Were you conscious of this?

MP: Absolutely! Think about Tom & Jerry - there's literally no dialogue. So the music is your narrator, telling a story without words. In a way, that's what Fantômas does, too. So I tried to merge those two languages. I felt a bit of a common thread between that and the little lingo we've developed over the years.

With the Locust and Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant at le Spectrum tonight, April 14, 8 p.m., $27.50, all ages

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