SKIN

With great expectations I entered the new album of Panic Room in my player, heard so many positive things about it. The first composition "Song For Tomorrow" starts with a beautiful symphonic rock theme, a bit (too) similar to a theme I already heard in an old Kayak song. So far so good. Lead singer Anne-Marie Helder has a pleasing voice, that evokes Andrea Corr. The band deliver a solid sound and the themes are all touching. "Chameleon" is a nice poppy song with a neat refrain and I think the same goes for songs like "Screens" and "Changes".

But then the monster of monotony strikes. One song after the other, all sounds the same. The singing of Anne-Marie seems to be based on repeating the same tricks and melodies over and over again. As a counterpart the band have nothing spectaculair to offer. It just rambles on. Every now and then I seem to recognize an old Corrs-song, but no it still is Panic Room, I am listening to.

It's hard to deny that Anne-Marie is a talented singer, but she should severely consider a bit more variation in her singing and the band should try a bit harder to bring up some more interesting instrumental interventions, elsewise this Panic Room will be suffocated in the boredom of the worst AOR.

This album will probably appeal to fans of the Corrs, the cd-cover however promises a far more captivating and exciting music. Nice pop music, but no prog.