DELUSION SQUARED

Take Porcupine Tree's spacey elements as a base, augment them with a strong reliance upon clean acoustic guitar and then bind them all together with compellingly beautiful female vocals and you have a decent idea where new neo-proggers Delusion Squared are coming from sonically.

I certainly understand why the band selected "The Very Day" to lead off their debut album. It is everything a newcomer's prog debut song should be: clever, catchy, witty, yet imbued with just enough instrumental complexity to hold even a veteran progger's interest. From there, however, I have the distinct feeling that Delusion Squared "held back" their very best material until last, for it is during the final trio of atmospheric, beautiful and compelling songs "What We Will Be", "The Departure" and "A Creation Myth" that they soar to their greatest heights, indelibly carving out such an infectious and unforgettable sonic presence that I find myself involuntarily, almost instinctively scrambling for the "replay" button each time the album draws to a close.

Although Delusion Squared takes us on a nicely varied journey through songs that rock far harder (Copyrighted Genes) and are more progressive (Sentenced), in the end it turns out that Delusion Squared is most convincing when they are slightly spacey, symphonic and atmospheric, yet with instrumentation sparse enough to allow the spotlight to shine brightly upon the lush, slightly vulnerable, idealistic vocals of Lorraine Young. Ms. Young's voice is endearing, her affectation guileless, and her timbre disarmingly coy. So much so, that even during the end of the song "In My Time of Dying" as she scolds environmental predators with the line "If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it", I can't help but envision corporate fat cats who are less likely to become truly offended than to oddly discover themselves tempted to pat her on the head while saying something totally inappropriate like "You know... Loraine, you really are cute when you're angry..."

I can think of worse strategies than starting with something catchy to grab the listener's attention and ending most excellently, leaving them wanting more. Even so, there is a danger that some impatient proggers and reviewers could lose interest (or form intractible impressions) before they even reach the album's strongest material. Don't let yourself make that mistake! Before allowing yourself to solidify an opinion of this album, fast-forward to tracks 9, 10 and 11. Let them fully sink in. Then proceed to enjoy track 1. (Once you are duly persuaded, a few of the other songs will soon enough find their way into your heart I'm sure...)

This debut album is a collection of intelligent, impeccably produced neo-progressive rock songs graced by a lush new female vocalist simultaneously confident and vulnerable. For my money, Lorraine Young is by far the most compelling female vocalist to emerge on the neo-progressive rock scene of 2010.

Although the instrumental performances are very good, hardcore progrockers seeking jaw- dropping displays of excellent musicianship may consider this album a little "light" on strictly prog-terms. Delusion Squred's debut album, however, is highly recommended as an excellent addition to any neo-prog or melodic song-based progressive rock music collection.

Learn more and pick up your own copy of this impressive debut album at: delusionsquared dot com.