The latest releases reviewed

EDDIE VEDDER Into the Wi ld Sony/BMG ***

When Sean Penn was making his upcoming Into the Wild film (the true story of a man who goes walkabout in Alaska and never returns), he singled out Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder to write the soundtrack. Vedder had been planning a solo album for a long time, so Penn's offer came at the right moment. Shorn of his band, Vedder reveals a more rootsy, folky approach, and on Hard Sun, the album's standout track, he sounds surprisingly like an acoustic Bruce Springsteen (albeit with bronchitis). Elsewhere, Vedder does a good job of aligning the music to the film's Alaskan setting by keeping things sparse and rugged. Always a bit of an angst-ridden screamer with Pearl Jam, here Vedder reveals a more considered and subtle approach. Some of the songs don't hold up, but this is interesting new territory for him. BRIAN BOYD

Download track: Hard Sun

PAUL HASLINGER Shoot 'Em Up Varese Sarabande  ***

Although his scores offer an eclectic combination of electronica, rock, and world music styles, Paul Haslinger has yet to discover an individual voice or a signature style of his own. Despite the diversity of the former Tangerine Dream-er's action/horror/ thriller scores (Vacancy, Crank, Paradise Lost, Into the Blue, Underworld), the end results always sound similarly lacklustre and generic. With power chords and pounding percussion driving most of its short action cues, Haslinger's new score for the ultra-violent Shoot 'Em Up emphasises energy and effect over melody and theme. There are, however, occasional moments when Haslinger boldly blends warm electronic sounds and bright instrumental colours with simple chunky beats to strong dynamic effect, from the slinky pulse of The Fortress of Solitude and the gentle dub of Privacy Love Theme to the cascading chords of True Confessions. www.colosseum.de JOCELYN CLARKE

Download tracks: The Fortress of Solitude, True Confessions