THE FINAL DELUSION

3½ stars really. DELUSION SQUARED is a French trio consisting of Lorraine Young (vocals, acoustic guitars), Steve Francis (guitars, drums) and Emmanuel de Saint Méen (bass, keyboards). I was kindly asked to review this new album that finishes a trilogy. Crossover Prog with female vocals is something I can easily warm up to, and listening to some YouTube clips convinced me I would most likely enjoy their music.

The 73-minute, 13-track conceptual album is divided into four sections: Ordeal, Awareness, Deliverance and Surrender. At first the music sounds like slightly hard-edged, commercially oriented mainstream pop (up to Lorraine's voice), except that the energetic opening instrumental - distantly reminiscent of synth-era RUSH - wouldn't be completely out of place on an IQ album for instance. During the fast track 'Diaspora' my spouse came home and wondered which pop/rock radio channel I was listening to (against my habits!). That's revealing about the sound, but to my relief the sense of blunt consumer pop decreases notably on the course of the album. This is helped by bringing in some softer nuances and acoustic elements. However the overall production could be less tight and poppy, as we're speaking of a prog album after all.

Some rather annoying effects (machine beeps, spoken words, etc.) are placed between some songs. These may be carefully thought up to support the concept; too bad I actually fail to form any coherent "story" in my mind. Listeners familiar with earlier parts of the trilogy probably are better on the map in the first place. My personal musical highlights include the atmospheric 'Last Day of Sun', the calm 'By the Lake (Dying)' and the sorrowful second instrumental 'Persistence of Vision'. In other words, I prefer the more delicate side with acoustic guitars and moody synth layers, moments where e.g. PINK FLOYD and MARILLION are closer comparisons than the pop you hear in fast food restaurants. Anyway, I believe this album (or preferably the trilogy as a whole) is a grower when one gets deeper into it in various levels.