TR-i
The Individualist

Looking at this cover, TR-i wants to appear to us as an alien, but already upon listening to his "No World Order," I took the trouble to keep this hypothesis in mind. Neither the image nor the title of this album surprised me; rather, I feared another inextricable tangle of noises and sounds, styles and clamor, geometries and algebras awaited me.

The back of the CD further fueled my fears: a whole series of requirements to run the utilities of "The Individualist" on a PC... Finally, as if that weren't enough, inside the booklet, ten photos instead of the lyrics of the ten tracks. No, not ten other covers like in the previous album, but ten "simple" photos, capturing subjects of individualism, such as a cigar on an ashtray overflowing with cigarettes, a three of clubs ruining a royal flush of hearts, the only candle still lit on a birthday cake, etc....

As you might imagine, it was reassuring for me to discover the choice was made not to stray from the paths of the song...

Consistently with his tastes, TR-i gives life to the second album of overproduced pop that mixes funky, rap, spoken word, chill, ambient, soul, and more. "Family Values," funky pop with special guitar riffs and a spiritual finale, is emblematic in this regard. He places in the chaos two minimalist soul pop tracks of good level, unfortunately useful to raise the qualitative level of an album composed of too many tracks that are good, mostly, only "to make concept," among which the most unlistenable is the title track.

Consistently instead with my tastes, I find the guitar power pop of "If Not Now When" very enjoyable and the industrial rock of "Temporary Sanity" superlative.

In the end, it must be said, it is an album of music that has already been around for a while (even industrial); none of these tracks shine for originality, and certainly, funky all keyboards, as well as the chill ballads, in 1995, the year this album was released, not only did not belong to the avant-garde, but even echoed the tastes and schemes of the eighties!

In 1995, industrial rock already had its standard-bearers, the rap didn't resemble at all what TR-i recorded; performing in specials, rapping on a rock, placing tons of keyboards and samples doesn't extend the breath to a good half of the tracks on this album, not exactly brilliant. A mediocre work, then, not even much enhanced by arrangements too in carbon fiber and poorly projectable into future decades.

If TR-i is indeed an alien, he surely did well to disappear from the face of the earth, presumably returning to his planet: he wasn't the right e.t. to astonish us with these predictable extravaganzas.

Hey, you up there, if you hear me, send down a better one!