None of this history seems very relevant when you start to play this CD. "While You Were Sleeping" mixes electronica and plucked acoustic guitar. Imagine if Garbage were exciting, edgy or dangerous. There are towers of synthesiser, to complement the other instruments. It's the sort of confident first song that persuades you the whole album is great. I've had a sneaky listen to the end and I can confirm this is true. "Quiet The Silent World" keeps up the momentum. Melanie's voice is breathy and displays vulnerability. The celebratory guitars have me thinking of Brix Smith's The Adult Net. The music shimmers so much I have to check this album wasn't produced by Bernard Butler. Despite the lack of involvement from the ex-Suede guitarist this song climaxes into a glittery fountain of sound.

"Me And Rose" is a more traditional singer songwriter sound, with Melanie back with an ominous cello sound. Things take a lighter turn when the accordion turn up, which stops this song from descending into the type of terrors explored by Kristin Hersh's "Your Ghost". "Mirror" shows yet another side of Melanie's character. This time we're in trip-hop/recent The Gathering territory. The music ascends skywards as Melanie sings the chorus: 'Keep me in your mirror, keep, hold, can't you?' Sensitive listeners will swoon at the intensity of emotion expressed. Where are my smelling salts again? "No Place" features prominent guitar and piano. It's another emotion filled song. It reminds of a late 80s/early 90s band who were never as popular as they should have been: Skin Games.

The melancholy guitars and tribal drums of "Queen 23" recalls American Music Club. Even the use of recorder can't ruin derail my enjoyment of the gentle progress of this song. "I Want It All" has the atmosphere of Portishead, especially in its use of esoteric electronics. There aren't many times I suspect the influence of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, but this is one case. "Sweetness In Your Light" features more acoustic guitar. It's light weight compared to other songs on the album. "Somebody Take Me Home" has a late night feel. Whose home Melanie wishes to be taken to she doesn't specify. If this song could end any less darkly then I don't know how. In comparison "So Far From Lost" is all sweetness and light. With the talk of 'petals' that 'fall to earth' it's inevitable that All About Eve are recalled. "This Face This Name" brings the album to a close in a triumphant manner. There are spooky electronics and raucous guitars. It's a sinuous, tightly coiled beast of a song.

Having heard this album I hope that Maple Bee is a longer lived project than many of Melanie Garside's previous incarnations. This is an appealing mix of acoustic instruments and electronic technology. It's the songs that are most important – and the depth of emotion on offer there is never in doubt.