This week's Soundtrack CD reviewed

Traitor Varese Sarabande **

After several years serving as orchestrator on other people's soundtracks, American composer Mark Kilian struck out on his own in 2006 with a slew of impressive original scores, from the award- winning Before the Rainsand Without the Kingto Tsotsiand Rendition(both with Paul Hepker). If those dramatic and lyrical scores defined Killian's signature sound of bright melodies, supple polyrhythms and bold instrumental colours (a vibrant fusion of electronic and world), then his new score for Jeffery Nachmanoff's international terrorist thriller proves his least distinctive and ambitious. Kilian combines abrupt themes and jittery beats with spare strings, warm electronica and Middle Eastern instrumentation (oud, ney) to create a surprisingly generic action score – one that, though strong on atmosphere and suspense, sounds like any other. www.colosseum.de

JOCELYN CLARKE

Download tracks: Traitor Theme, Researching Horn