This week's soundtrack CD reviewed

JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

Duplicity/ Varese Sarabande

After 2008's critical high of The Happening(the score, not the film), the extraordinary success of The Dark Knight(with Hans Zimmer) and a surprise Oscar nomination for Defiance, veteran composer James Newton Howard kicks off 2009 with Duplicity, his impressive new score for Tony Gilroy's corporate espionage thriller. Unlike his electro-noodling for Gilroy's Michael Clayton, Howard creates a taut score that is both suspenseful and playful, particularly his deft funk, rock, and world fusion stylings. Combining strong themes and lithe polyrhythms with spare orchestration and bright electronica, Howard gradually juxtaposes driving beats, pulsing strings and surging guitars with supple thematic variations on solo piano and Spanish guitar, infusing their dynamic tension with tender lyricism and dry wit. Duplicity is a seriously cool score. www.colosseum.de

JOCELYN CLARKE

Download tracks: Following Claire, Airport Love