The first full-length studio album shows Pedro Fernandez the guitarist coming into his own as a composer, matching his prodigious talent as a performer. The result is an entertaining and exhilirating mix. The ear popping "Kong Is Loose" is balanced by more reflective pieces such as "Saving Grace" and "Brenda Lee." The high-powered "Psycho Monkey" and "Die Young, Live Forever" are complemented by the funky-sexy "Superlicious Cosmic Love Bubble" and "Mr. McHappy-Pants." Unlike most guitar-god solo recordings, Beautiful Illusion avoids the sort of technical noodling that is uninteresting to everyone except other guitarists, opting instead for a collection of high-quality music that is full of compositional experimentation without ever exhausting the 'songs need words' audience. As the Creative Advisory notes, Beautiful Illusion is a veritable luxuriance of sublime sonic awesomeness.