TR3’s Radiance features legendary guitarist Tim Reynolds, Mick Vaughan on bass, and Dan Martier on drums. Many may be familiar with Tim Reynolds through his well known collaborations with the Dave Matthews Band. Reynolds is the front man who began TR3 several years ago in Charlottesville, VA. The trio returned to Charlottesville in May 2008, to record Radiance, a lineup of 15 tracks plus a bonus track. The product is a versatile album of genres from blues and soul to metal rock.

The opening song, "See You in Your Dreams," is a calm, melodic song that is catchy and will have you swaying along. The next song flows from the opener and picks up the tempo as Reynolds croons about a love he can’t get off his mind in, "The Wind Just Blew the Door Wide Open." The album is full of Reynolds’s guitar riffs that flow without effort and are highlighted in several instrumental songs. These songs feature the trio’s ability to play off of one another and allow Reynolds’s guitar skills to lead them through various styles, such as the rhythmic, "Sweet Spot," the edgy, "Victory Express," the jarring, futuristic, "Kabbalah," and the energetic, "Burning Season." The lineup of songs provides the listener with a cultured experience including the hints of reggae heard in, "Meaning to Tell You." The album is concluded with a bonus track that features a beatnik, sort of tribal spiritual, which provides comic relief.

Reviewing this album was my first experience of Tim Reynolds’s work outside of the Dave Matthews Band. I was initially turned off by the roughness of his voice, but it grew on me the more I listened to the album. The more I heard his voice it became a smooth compliment to the chords he plays. If you’re someone who likes your music to fit into a neat box, then Radiance may not be for you. However, if you want to paint your palette with more than blue and gray, then you should give Radiance a listen.