The latest releases reviewed.

MARCO BELTRAMI Live Free or Die Hard Varese Sarabande ****

With more than a decade of genre-defying scores (I, Robot, Mimic, Hellboy, The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada), Italian Marco Beltrami has pushed himself to the forefront of a new generation of contemporary international film composers. While Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4.0) is as brash and epic as the fourth installment of the franchise could want, Beltrami has also provided an unusually smart and complex action score. He deftly combines spare orchestral strings and staccato horns with driving polyrhythms. Bristling with taut drama, bold colour, and brooding urgency -

It's a Fire Sale, Farrell to DC, The Break In and Aftermath stand out - Live Free or Die Hard is very attitudinal and kick-ass indeed. www.colosseum.de JOCELYN CLARKE

Download Tracks: It's a Fire Sale, Aftermath