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 VARIOUS ARTISTS
Twilight soundtrack Warner 3 stars This has been out for a while, and I keep forgetting to review it. Now I haven’t seen the film – nor do I intend to – so I can’t comment on its effectiveness as a soundtrack. Opening with Muse’s ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ is a mistake, because that song is an absolute ripper and so the rest of the tracks feel a bit anti-climactic. Much of the content on this is mediocre in my opinion – Linkin Park’s ‘Leave Out All The Rest’ and O.A.R.’s ‘Love Is Worth The Fall’ are cases in point. However there is some good stuff here – Iron & Wine’s ‘Flightless Bird, American Mouth’ and Blue Foundation’s ‘Eyes On Fire’ are cracking songs. And Rob Pattinson’s efforts on ‘Never Think’, which he also wrote, are impressive – his voice has a nice Ray LaMontagne-esque sound to it.
 INSHALLA
Eskimo Joe Warner 3 stars I’ve got a soft spot for Eskimo Joe – there are some truly memorable songs in their back catalogue. Lead singer Kav Temperley has one of the most beautiful, distinctive voices on the Aussie music scene. Which is why I think the band is at their best when they delve into softer, more affecting rock ballad territory – it gives his voice the chance to be the focal point. The stand-out track for me on this is ‘The Sound Of Your Heart’, with the striking rasp of Temperley’s voice mixing nicely with simple string arrangements. Another highlight is ‘Falling For You’, including the intro track. The rest is run-of-the-mill pop rock to me – lead single and opener ‘Foreign Land’ is just one example. My advice would be to start experimenting with different styles because the equipment is all there.
 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN
Green Day Warner 3.5 stars On their eighth studio release, Green Day are back in rock-opera mode, dividing the album into three parts – ‘Heroes and Cons’, ‘Charlatans and Saints’, and 'Horseshoes and Handgrenades’. Like American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown is a 70s-esque epic that tells the story of two punk lovers on the run in the debris of post-Bush America. There’s a little too much punk thrash on this for me – the songs I most responded to are their forays into more classic rock and glossy balladry, such as ‘21 Guns’, ‘Last Night on Earth’, and ‘Restless Heart Syndrome’. But I still enjoyed the rest – it’s angry and frenetic and political and anthemic. And any band that fiercely attacks Christian hypocrisy (‘East Jesus Nowhere’) has my full support.
 VARIOUS ARTISTS
RNB Superclub: Greatest Club Hits 2001 - 2009 Warner 1 star I think there are some musical moments from the early 2000s that we should make every effort to forget – Fatman Scoop Feat. The Crooklyn Clan’s ‘Be Faithful’, Ja Rule’s ‘Livin’ It Up’, and Bob Sinclar’s ‘Rock This Party’ are just a few cases in point. But those, and many other offenders, are being celebrated on this unfortunate compilation. And Boys II Men’s ‘Roll Wit Me’? Any group that shortens ‘with’ to ‘wit’ is immediately at a disadvantage, it has to be said. And Next’s ‘Too Close’? This is just awful. Outer-suburban shopping mall soundtrack at best. There are a few okay tracks, such as Ne-Yo’s ‘Closer’, Alicia Keys’s ‘No One’, and Timbaland’s ‘The Way I Are’, but they are small mercies.
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