The first full-length studio album from Pedro Fernandez shows 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 sexy-funky "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 getting stale or alienating the 'songs need words' audience.

Beautiful Illusion is worth of the Creative Advisory attached to it, which states that the 'music herein is a veritable luxuriance of sublime sonic awesomeness'.