Panic Room were formed last year by Anne-Marie Helder and Jonathon Edwards after Karnataka's implosion. They drafted in former bandmates Paul Davies and Gavin John Griffiths, along with Alun Vaughan and Peter Charlton and set about defining their own sound.

Visionary Position starts off with the electronica of Elektra City, which has Anne-Marie singing through a vocal distortor, about the joys of living in a computerised age. It finishes off with a beautiful piano piece by Edwards while Endgame starts off with some heavy breathing, hopefully by Miss Helder followed by a Kashmirish medium rocker., featuring some cool violin by special guest Liz Prendergast.

All good stuff so far!

If you've listened to the Proggy Style Radio Show you'll have heard Firefly and will know that it is a beautiful song, in the vein of Bev Craven. I never really knew Karnataka much, so I don't know if this was their thing, but I'm enjoying this one for sure.

Initially I felt that Reborn had a certain celtic feel to it, but in a modern Fish way, rather than the cliched "we want to be Clannad" ulean pipes way. Well at least my notes said "celtic - modern not cliche".

The short folkish (it's the song that's short, not the folk. It's not a hobbit song) Moon On The Water flows next, a jaunty piano and guitar backing Anne-Maries voice, making a beautiful and soothing combination. A short burst of guitar meltdown sandwiched by chanting and breathing from am serves as the intro to the middle eastern tinged Apocalypstik which sees a cool bassline from Vaughan underpinning excellent guitar work, reminiscent of an 80's Hawkwind, by guest Gary Phillips, but all completely devoid of any pop sensibilities. Yes, the band get to wig out on this one, in a big way.

The traditional I Wonder What's Keeping My True Love Tonight chills the place out again. I say it's traditional, but I wouldn't know it was unless they'd told me. Though it does sound old and folky. Not in a complaining about youngsters and the price of powdered eggs way. It.'s nice even though it's not really my "thing".

The Dreaming rounds the whole thing off in surprisingly enough, a dreamy way, though it contains a multitude of twists and turns and twists along its 19 minute path. I even think there may be one or two extra tracks in there, making up the time.

So, an excellent first release by the band, and it's great to hear Anne-Marie stepping up to the main mic. I just hope her stint in Mostly Autumn is temporary and doesn't keep her from more Panic Room albums and gigs. That would be a waste.