Imagine if David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and John Lennon took turns singing for Enigma with guest appearances by Brian Eno, Thomas Dolby, Miles Davis, David Sylvian and Neil Finn and you might have an idea of what makes R-Three's 'Perceptual Distortion' the next CD you're going to be telling your friends about.
Not easily dismissed as "electronic", "alternative" or "progressive rock", the debut album by R-Three: Perceptual Distortion is a 50 minute musical exploration of the "...distorted perceptions that are promoted by our success driven, consumer oriented, possessive minded society."
The album opens by looking within as a way to understand the world without; and ultimately takes a critical look at the 21st century world as it starts to disappear beneath the slick veneer of consumer culture and political instability.
But to label Perceptual Distortion a political album is to miss the raw humanity and emotion that R-Three founder/singer/producer Rhett Redelings delivers through his passionate, "earthy vocals" and the group's uniquely cinematic approach to song structure.
By blending ambient soundscapes, infectiously instrumental electropop and acid jazz numbers with a handful of skillfully crafted alternative/post-rock songs, R-Three has created an original work that is best described as a "cross genre piece of work that is neatly stitched together on a centrally themed cut of silk".