DELUSION SQUARED

I have rated this album five stars some weeks ago, but now I feel like writing a review to support my rating and to spread the word: this album simply is a masterpiece ! The trio is from France, actually the northwestern part of it. The point has its importance because we're talking about celtic area, and indeed I think there are some celtic influences to the music. Other influences are clearly prog classics, and being an avid listener of Pink Floyd or Yes I can pinpoint places where the influence is blatant. However the bulk of the album is more eclectic than that, and often, the arrangements are simply breathtaking. This is also a strongly melodic album, with finely chiseled tunes that give me goosebumps. All the instruments are nicely mastered and some guitar solos are very inspiring. Now for the vocals: the female singer really brings an ethereal presence to the album, she has a really different voice. I understand this may be disturbing to some people accustomed to classical prog voices, but for me it is just beautiful, a real achievement. In conclusion this is one of the very best albums of 2010, and considering this is a debut album I think it really deserves five stars.

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.

Delusion Squared seem to be a band who like to hide their light under a bushel, the digipack album cover does not divulge any details of the band members or composers. However it does give the storyline of this concept album which tells the narrative of a girl who defies a post apocalyptic society by getting pregnant and is thus condemned to live with the outcasts of society. She becomes a leader of the outcasts and when she dies an old woman she is considered a deity. But back to the music which is mostly acoustic and electric guitar driven with some nice piano and understated electric keyboards thrown in, the electric guitar solos are lovely and at times are quite unique sounding. Lorraine Young's lead vocals are wispy and angelic (slightly along the lines of Suzanne Vega) and in my opinion suit the style of music down to the ground.

The opening track "The Very Day" is certainly catchy with Young's voice dictating the captivating melody. Certain tracks such as "Copyrighted Genes" and "The Betrayal" are driven by an almost metal style guitar sound and the combination of this with the quieter acoustic passages certainly bring to mind a certain Porcupine Tree type sound. The track "By The Lake (Mourning)" is a lovely acoustic instrumental track as the story reaches the point where the girl lies by the water expecting to die after being expelled from the arcology where organised society now lives after the Great Tear as the apocalypse is called. The track "What We Will Be" starts with a robotic voice giving a sort of story of Earth creation before it develops into piano led ballad which is very reminiscent of something off the PT album "Anesthetize". The album concludes with its longest track, the fine "A Creation Myth" which is an acoustic guitar and piano piece which shows off Young' voice very well.

This is a excellent album, it's worth four stars and probably 4.5, the musicianship by the other members of the band Emmanuel De Saint Méen and Steven Francis is excellent. It's a pity that there are no lyrics with the album to enhance the story, seems a bit strange doing a concept album with no lyric sheet but that a small gripe. Fine band with lots of potential to improve with the next album.

Sometimes, the hype is justified.

I am not the biggest fan of female fronted song focused prog. But twice this year, I have been bowled over by new bands who has taken this genre to a new level. All Over Everywhere is the first and the best band of those two exceptions from the rule. Delusion Squared is the second exception from this rule.

Although Delusion Squared's debut album, the one I am reviewing here, is not in the same league as All Over Everywhere's genre defining debut album, they too really blazes a new trail in the wilderness. Delusion Squared's sound is somewhere in the area between Porcupine Tree and Dido. The female vocals is great and very Dido. The sound is Steve Wilson & Co. In other words; somewhere between neo-rock, metal and jazz. That makes the platform the songs are built on pretty rock solid.

The quality of the songs are great throughout. The final song A Creation Myth is excellent and the best song here. But the rest is not far behind. The band has infused a lot of moods and atmosphere into the songs. A depressed, dark mood. I feel Emo is not far away from their sound. But Emo is a pretty derided scene now so I better not mention that word. Oh, I just did. Twice. Sorry. Anyway, my point is that this band knows what soul is and they use this knowledge wisely throughout the album. An understated album is therefore the end result.

This is an album that slowly creeps up on you and just stays in the CD player and in your mind for a long time. This is a strong candidate for the top ten albums list of 2010 too. In short; I love this album despite of the lack of some killer tunes that would elevate this album to a classic album. This band is surely one of the best talents in today's scene.

4 stars

Very good debut album. Would it have been instrumental I would have rated it 4.5* My problem is with the beautiful female voice.I find this voice very appropriate for pop music(someone mentioned Dido), but incompatible with progressive music. I am probably one of the few people who don't like female voices in prog.I recognize it took me a while to enjoy Renaissance to it's true value because of the same problem. When I listen to this album and the voice comes in , suddenly I have the impression that I'm listening to pop instead of prog.Pity, it could have been one of the best albums of the year.

This debut release by a very promising three-piece is a concept album set in a dystopian post war society where people live in biospheres and are controlled by artificial intelligence.  Even procreation is artificial, so when our heroine decides she wants to have a 'natural' baby she is cast out into the big bad world to fend for herself.  Musically this is a real gem.  It is modern guitar driven prog rock with Porcupine Tree type riffs, Gilmour like subtlety, and some great acoustic guitar work too.  There is everything from gentle ambience to full on metal.  However, it is Lorraine Young's vocals that really make it stand out. Sounding sweet and innocent at times and downright spooky at others, she is set to to bring some fresh ideas to the female fronted prog/metal sound.  This is essential listening for any prog fan.

this is one of the most amazing albums I've heard this year. I've listened to it several times and hear new things each time. This, to me, is a sign of a very good album. I can only imagine the direction the band will take on it's next album. Based on this self titled debut, I feel we're going to be treated to some excellent music in the years to come.

In closing, if you're a fan of where the modern progressive rock scene is going or enjoy a very good concept album with well, this is among the highest recommended albums of 2010.

The French trio DELUSION SQUARED was formed in 2009, and so far has preferred to keep a low profile as far as any further background goes. The band issued their self-titled debut effort in the fall of 2010, and as many artists opt to do these days, they released the CD themselves.

I have encountered quite a few debut efforts from 2010 so far, with more to come. Delusion Squared is most certainly among the most interesting ones so far, and is a band with an album that warrants a check by those who like their art rock contemporary and diversified. While different in scope and expression, at least to some extent, I'd suggest that those with a soft spot for artists such as Porcupine Tree might fancy spending some time getting more familiar with this album, and much the same can be said for fans of bands like Riverside as well as neo outfits like IQ and Believe.

Delusion Squared is a unique album that rarely comes around these days. The talent of each of the band members as well as great musicality and technique overall is expressed in each of the songs. The combination of "angel" voice with progressive rock works perfectly and adds something special to the music. I loved the female vocalist as she brings something fresh and invigorating to this style. The musicians have such a creative ear as they combine beautiful and moving melodies perfectly with a rough rock edge. A great album that will definitely be enjoyed by all progressive rock fans as well as anyone who enjoys listening to great music by performers who are excellent at their instruments. I definitely rate this five stars and am already looking forward of what will continue to come in the future from Delusion Squared.

This is an album of nice music, and nice melodies, but poor, even amatuerish mixing, engineering and production. At times it sounds as if the guitar effects have been created with the cheapest effects pedals (especially the distortion, e.g. on "the Very Day" and "Rebirth"), and the mix often sounds first-time home studio-ish. Also, the music and vocal moods often sound very out of sync with one another--as if they were perfoming two different songs (e.g. "The Very Day," "The Betrayal," and "By the Lake (Seeding)"). This band needs time to gel, get seasoned, learn better mixing and engineering skills. Most of the music is nice though rather uncomplicated. Some times reminded of PF or PT ("Copyrighted Genes") others like MAGENTA and CHROMA KEY. Vocal talents are reminiscent of BJORK, EDIE BRICKELL, and DIDO (best on "Rebirth"). "What Will Be" is a pretty awesome song. Definitely a band to watch as they develop and grow.

A sophisticated concept-album with an intricate story. In the great tradition of sci-fi epic stories, this new band delivers an inventive plot about a girl being raised in a protected, high-tech closed world, only to rebel and then starting to get into troubles. The originality is that her rebellion involves being pregnant! Which seems to be forbidden in this future society where only artificial intelligences can decide on copying copyrighted material, apparently including human genome ... This is in my opinion a clever way to denounce the current copyright abuses we hear about.

Musically, I have to agree with Classic Rock Magazine writing about a "toure de force". The music and arrangements are very clever, and the female singer's voice is a pure marvel, especially on calm, intimate moments where she is disarmingly enchanting. There are many samples included, some of which are from famous people, such as astrophysician Stephen Hawking and environmental activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki (from her very famous speech at UNO when she was twelve). They are well woven into the music, and actually bring something to the whole story, since they provide a different view from the one of the heroin. My favourite morsels include the second part of track 2 "In my Time of Dying" (nothing to do with the Led Zep one), and track 7 "By the Lake part II" which delivers very subtle vibes. Tracks 9 and 11 are also very good, albeit more conventional.

The music is delivered in four "chapters" named Remembrance, Delusion, Enlightenment, Legacy. The capitals R-D-E-L seem to form the word "ordeal"... Band member's Steven Francis has talked in an interview about several easter eggs waiting to be discovered, I think this is one of them :-)

Things rolled quite fast for Delusion Squared, a French trio found in 2009 by multi-instrumentalists Steven Francis and Emmanuel de Saint Meen and female singer/acoustic guitarist Lorraine Young, determined to make an impact in the prog world.In September 2010 the group launched a self-titled debut CD, released as a private self-production.It unfolds around a concept story about a young woman, living in a post-nuclear technological world, where she decided to give birth to her baby naturally, disregarding the current gene rules and at the end found guilty of gene piracy.

Musically the album is divided into four sections, strictly connected to the concept story, where the modern approach of Delusion Squared changes between smoother and heavier moments, depending on the needed mood and flirting with the likes of PORCUPINE TREE, IOEARTH or FREQUENCY DRIFT.The first two sections of the album seem to be the more balanced and pleasant.The tracks have a great atmosphere, based on Lorraine Young sensitive vocals and the compositions are well-crafted with very good rhythmic electric guitars, a fair dose of acoustic passages, while the slight guitar distortions and the use of electronics and synthesizers make the sound richer and even more attractive.The closing two sections are significantly softer, obviously inspired by the storyline of the concept, but get dangerously calm compated to the first half of the album.These tracks recall the most mellow moments of KARNATAKA or PAATOS, sounding more melodic, but lacking the great energy of the opening ones.Too much acoustic material and too much piano with very limited electric moments, but they still sound pleasant with some fantastic instrumental parts contained.

Delusion Squared's debut leaves great promises for the future.A talented modern Prog trio with interesting ideas, both regarding their music and their concept stories, in need of finding a slightly more balanced sound.Warmly recommended.