Given that last year's "Twilight" soundtrack sold more than 2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, it's not surprising that the sequel's companion album largely reproduces the first set's alt-rock grab-bag approach - albeit with bigger names befitting the higher profile of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (Chop Shop/Atlantic, B+).
Music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas landed top-shelf exclusives from the Killers, Thom Yorke and Death Cab for Cutie (whose "Meet Me on the Equinox" is guitar-guy melancholia at its prettiest). But Patsavas' real accomplishment is using "New Moon" to introduce mainstream listeners to hipster-beloved indie acts: Grizzly Bear, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon in a duet with St. Vincent, "Roslyn," that could warm even a vampire's heart.
Mario has a broken heart and he's pouring it all out on his latest set, "D.N.A." (RCA/JIVE, B). Accompanied by a drum machine on "I Miss My Friend," Mario belts out lyrics about feeling despair since his lady friend left him, while "Get Out" finds the artist cursing the woman who ripped a hole inside his chest. Even up-tempo songs like the first single, "Break Up" - with a guest rap by Gucci Mane - touch on heartache.
SONG SUNG BLUE: There's no denying that songwriting is among the most cathartic professions. And never has a writer's pain sounded more achingly raw than on Steven Curtis Chapman's new "Beauty Will Rise" (Sparrow Records, B+), a collection of songs about the death of his 5-year-old daughter. (Maria Sue died in 2008 after her brother accidentally hit her with a car in the family's driveway.)
The new set examines unfathomable grief but also celebrates an extraordinary young life, with lyrics that are heartbreaking yet hopeful. Though he's been tested, Chapman's faith remains strong and shines through on songs like "Our God Is in Control," "Faithful," "I Will Trust You" and the comforting "Jesus Will Meet You There."
FULL CIRCLE: Bon Jovi had great crossover success after putting a little bit of country into its rock-'n'-roll with the 2007 "Lost Highway." But the New Jersey group gets back to the business of rocking on its 11th studio album, "The Circle" (Island Records, A).
The band hits a classic Bon Jovi stride out of the gate with the first single, the common-man anthem "We Weren't Born to Follow." Also in that mold are tracks like "Work for the Working Man," "Thorn in My Pride" and "Broken Promiseland." The country-friendly elements are still there - the fiddle and steel on "Live Before You Die," for example - but "The Circle" rides closer to the New Jersey turnpike than the band's "Highway" run.
For some longtime Flaming Lips fans, the band's 12th studio album, "Embryonic" (Warner, C+), will be hailed as a welcome return to the experimental, psychedelic form of its early years. But the group's newer fans who only know the Lips' recent pop-infused tunes and obtuse but harmless lyrics may be surprised by the new album's return to atonal jams, buried vocals and a notable lack of memorable melodies.
The act should be credited for not hewing to the tried-and-true formula it pretty much invented with previous releases ("The Soft Bulletin," "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," "At War With the Mystics"), but many of the double-disc's 18 tracks feel like they are embryonic rather than fully formed.
The exceptions include "Convinced of the Hex" and the closer "Watching the Planets," which should fit nicely into the band's always-entertaining live show.
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