VIRTUAL LOVE is a worthy followup to Media Burn's impressive debut cd, Deformity Folows Dysfunction. With so many songs on it, it plays more like two 9-song mini-albums than a single-length album. The unique style of the first album is mostly retained on VIRTUAL LOVE, with the exception of more real drums. But the sound also gets expanded in both a poppier and a more experimental direction. 'Recurrence 28' is a beautiful song; sounds like what might've resulted if Lee Renaldo had joined Cocteau Twins, by way of My Bloody Valentine. The sparse 'Assume the Worst' is brilliant in its loose impressionistic structure, the way it always seems like it's about to fall apart at any second, yet somehow manages to hold together. The title track has the catchiest chorus i've heard in any song in a long time, just the word "LOVE", shouted with a huge echo. it's such a simple idea yet it works so well. Drugs are a recurring theme in the 2nd half of the album, with atleast 2 songs about addiction, the catchy 'Self-Medication', and the darker '1986'. 'Rabbit Punch' has heavy lyrics ("Freud was right, Men want to fuck me, Women want to fuck me over"), and then halfway through it smacks you in the side of the head with an unexpected lurch into a pulsating one-chord guitar riff. 'Distraction' is a brutally loud rocker, with layers upon layers of psychedelic guitar noise. 'What's it To Ya?' is a sugary pop rock song that you'll be humming along to immediately. My favorite song on the album may be 'Blessed With Mortality', which is a perfect blend of musical innovation and catchy hooks.