Saturday, July 1, 2006

Inspired by Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Project features music by Dutch composer Jan Kisjes that blends modern electronic and classical elements into a melodramatic sound. Kisjes also uses solo vocalists as well as a choir to heighten the atmosphere, and the result is a multi-faceted musical adventure that virtually accompanies the novel’s thought-provoking tale. The album starts off promisingly enough with the spoken word introduction Ainsi Tout a Commence (Sic Est Inceptum), which floats into a rich, bass-driven arrangement that keeps the mysterious aura intact. As a whole, the album celebrates the importance of women as a source of procreation and love. The Sword and the Chalice, La Femme est sacr`E9e and Revelation o’the Truth all refer to the sanctity of women. Forgotten Men (Homines Obliti) is a Spanish guitar-driven lament. Another thematic and musical highlight of the album is Crux Gemmata. The result is a highly original and insightful album that will appeal to music lovers as well as fans of Dan Brown’s bestseller and Da Vinci’s timeless art.

Best track: Ecclesia ‘Saint-Sulpice’

Misfit: Gladius et Calyx

As far as Brit-pop is concerned, we’ve always been big admirers of pulp; their decadent, theatrical brand of rock ‘n’ roll always appealed to us more than the bubblier pleasures of bands like Blur. That said, however, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon’s solo effort, Happiness in Magazines, is a delightful alternative to most of the rock material available these days. Bittersweet Bundle of Misery provides the disc’s best moment; it’s sweet, simple, perfect pop-rock, and deserves to overtake at least one or two spots on the modern rock charts occupied by facetiously anguished teen singer-songwriters.

Best track: People of The Earth

Worst track: Bottom Bunk

Rating: **

Hoobastank established themselves as one of alternative rock’s successful bands with their 2004 release The Reason, which featured the smash hit title track and turned Hoobastank into a household name. Now they return with Every Man for Himself, an album that accentuates Hoobastank’s best features and builds on the band’s previous strengths, combining a penchant for punchy hard rock with hooky accessibility. Veering from the defiant individualism of Born to Lead to the unbridled Good Enough to the luminous Without A Fight, the group melds hard-rock and power-pop textures with ease. Much of the more volume-centric material fall in the modern metal region, but there are also a few surprises, from the lively Look Where We Are to the dance-floor filler First of Me. Perhaps the most enjoyable track is the newly released single Inside Of You, which includes a catchy beat and has a somewhat refreshing sound. There is one flaw though, every song outstays its welcome by at least a minute. Vocalist Douglas Robb repeats his choruses to submission. The album’s lead-off single, If I Were You, shows Hoobastank in expansive power-ballad mode. The album closes with a flashy production, and adds horns and a flute that breathe life into More Than a Memory.

Best track: Inside of You

Worst track: Stay The Same

Rating: ***