Tremens Industry

Raoul Sinier's follow-up to his already impressive Wxfdswxc2 (2007) is nothing short of a masterpiece — and not so much as a record than as an art object. Of course the music is great: Sinier has perfected a style of electronic music that encompasses hip-hop and progressive rock: choppy beats, real (and skillful) instrumental playing, a slightly raw sound that's more attitude than lack of craftsmanship — a D.I.Y. approach, if you will. Musically, Tremens Industry's only relative flaw is Sinier's new interest in the song format. The handful of songs peppered through the 13-track playlist are unconvincing at best ("List of Things"), worth skipping over at worst ("The Hole"). On the other hand, you get a more than fair number of propelling ("Alternative Rush"), soulful ("Overthoughts"), and downright weird instrumentals ("Map for a Tactical Nonsense," "Tremens Industry"). Ironically, the most memorable melodies on the album are found in those instrumentals, not in the songs. However, the CD accounts only for a third of the actual item that is Tremens Industry. The digipack also includes a DVD packed with over 90 minutes of videos and documentaries, making it a complete representation of Sinier's multifaceted art. The man is also a painter (you get sped-up films of him creating complete computer artworks) and instrument-maker (another film documents the birth of his odd electric guitar). Most of all, he is a marvelously twisted filmmaker, and the DVD contains a slew of videos: cartoons, 3D animations, real-life films with cartoons added in, all over his tunes — from this and his previous albums. You'll see all kinds of strange things: creatures living inside the walls, well-intentioned robots, and the strange love story between a man and a chicken breast. Tremens Industry packages all of Sinier's previous videos, some in remastered form, and that playlist is just as important — and interesting — as the one on the CD, the two complementing each other. ~ François Couture, Rovi