The latest releases reviewed.

DARIO MARIANELLI The Brave One Varese Sarabande ****

Along with Alexandre Desplat, Marco Beltrami, Ed Shearmur, Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell, Dario Marianelli is part of a new generation of international composers dominating Hollywood. The Italian's impressive scoring slate includes the Oscar-nominated Pride & Prejudice, The Brothers Grimm, V for Vendetta, I Capture The Castle, The Return and, most recently, the wonderful Atonement. His new score for Neil Jordan's thriller The Brave One is signature Marianelli, brimming with intelligence and drama. Merging long melodic lines and insistent polyrhythms with spare orchestration and minimal electronica, The Brave One's dynamic mix of strong themes (heard mostly on piano, guitar and solo violin) and bright colours infuse its overall menacing atmosphere (staccato violins, rumbling basses and jittery percussion) with an astonishing expressiveness and warmth. www.colosseum.de JOCELYN CLARKE

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