Shifting deftly through an eclectic array of modal and rhythmic intricacies, Alien Blue's sophomore effort, "Virtual Light" is like a sonic Six Flags for musicians. While carrying more appeal to the mass listener than their previous album ("An Alien Blue") this collection of songs still gravitates toward favoring a trained and diverse ear. Tracks like "Cool Cat" exemplify this by laying a straight quarter-note triplet chorus over a 4/4 shuffle intro and verse. David "Skinny Devil" McLean (guitars/vocals/percussion) pushes the envelope of tolerance by carrying this variation to a near extreme, but without actually going completely overboard. The technique will delight the trained ear and bewilder (but captivate) your general listener. Conversely, the danceable sing-along songs "Ragamuffin Voodoo" and "Skinny Devil Shuffle" give the listener an ear-pleasing, non-challenging and beat-driven experience that's just good old-fashioned foot tappin' blues-rock. McLean does play an impressive set of cascading (and briefly dissonant) intervals on "Voodoo" and Ria's ("Blue's") soaring vocals tie it all together beautifully, much like in other tracks. Overall, "Virtual Light" is an impressive follow-up album to "An Alien Blue" and, while the production quality is superior to their previous effort, it still leaves a great deal of room for improvement. For the entrenched musicians who appreciate fearless blues-rock, this is another indispensable and spellbinding album from Alien Blue. For the casual listener, this is a solid album to add to your collection and will not disappoint.

... then this is what you want... Alien Blue manages to infuse superior musicianship with outright fun... they utilize simple musical devices with subtle twists and turns while never leaving the listener wandering but fully engaged on the groove at hand (Imagine We being a prime example). Alien Blue VIRTUAL LIGHT is packed full of energy of a live performance and full of risks that few musicians are willing to take. It's unique and savvy and daring... something that we rarely find in modern music.

If you like acoustic blues,you're gonna love this. David is a fantastic guitar player with a very unique style you won't hear anywhere else.Couple that with Blue's powerful,soulful voice,you have music that sticks with you and won't let go. You won't want it to. If you get a chance to see them live,you won't regret it. Check out the title track. (my personal fave.)