I wondered if this album’s title was a reference to the ring tones that are T-Pain’s primary medium, or Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s actually part of a circus theme that peters out after two songs, but Peezy-as-carny makes more sense than he might realize. After all, the guy took AutoTune software intended for pitch correction and bolted together a freakish new aesthetic. (Dare you gaze upon… The Singing Computer?) Though Thr33 Ringz’s weaker moments only add to the glut of robotic R&B that has followed T-Pain’s breakthrough, that shouldn’t obscure his skills. Unlike, say, Akon, he seems to have an intuitive grasp of this gimmick, and he’s a fine, ingenious producer, especially if you want bouncy and/or breezy. Best of all, his lyrics are like a malfunctioning android’s poignant attempt to mimic current pop: T-Pain claims his girl is an amalgam of every hot female celebrity ever (“Superstar Lady”) and yearns for humanity to become Hershey’s Kisses and “eat away our fears.” Who says that digital artifice only breeds conformity?