My love of electronic instrumental music, usually and narrowly lumped into the "ambient" category, is something I can't share with any of my friends. None of them likes this kind of music, but I know there are fans out there. To those fellow travelers, I draw your attention to this latest amazing creation by Mark Nelson under the moniker of Pan American. Unlike some of the more purely atmospheric recordings of the loose genre, Mark's instrumental pieces on Cloud Room/ Glass Room do have some melodic movement in terms of a thematic motif, "rhythm section," and distinct mood within each composition. I have listened to this music mainly while working at my computer, and the stately progression of numbers like "The Cloud Room" has me feeling like I am doing something important, while a piece with more drive and momentum such as "Project for an Apartment Building" makes the world around me seem more alive. This album also sounds less improvised and more carefully constructed than some of the music it fits in with, but it also manages to feel relatively organic at the same time.