http://nz.entertainment.yahoo.com//070521/5/i0w.html

Linkin Park ambitions nearly palpable on new album

ALBUM: MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Rap-metal's sell-by date expired many, many years ago, and no one noticed more than Linkin Park, whose "Minutes to Midnight" finds the band throwing all manner of styles at the wall to distance it from a genre that currently enjoys a lower approval rating than Cheney. Linkin Park's ambitions are nearly palpable, but songs likely conceived as homages end up sounding too close to their sources. One can detect bits of Metallica ("No More Sorrow"), the theme from "Halloween" (first single "What I've Done"), "With or Without You" ("Shadow of the Day") and a breakup ballad that could have been written by the Matrix ("Leave Out All the Rest"). Sometimes the band hits: The hand-clap-powered "Bleed It Out" works up a nice lather, and Shinoda's antiwar monologue "Hands Held High" proves there might yet be more in Linkin Park's backpack than self-doubt and identity crises.

ARTIST: MAROON5

ALBUM: IT WON'T BE SOON BEFORE LONG (A&M/Octone)

Nearly every song on Maroon5's two albums is about a girl leaving or being left, or getting loved within an inch of her life by Adam Levine. "It makes me burn to learn you're with another man," he sings on new album opener "If I Never See Your Face Again." "I wonder if he's half the lover that I am." But with songs this sticky, his hubris is forgiven. The slick, hyperproduced "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" is a set of 12 potential hits, all mashes of groove and guitar firepower. They're unified by Levine's invaluable voice, which croons rock and belts soul with a clean pop finish. "Can't Stop" is "Harder to Breathe" 2007; "Makes Me Wonder" sounds more Jackson 5 than Maroon5, with congas and a jangly disco riff; and "Better That We Break" is the band's most epic stuff yet. No sophomore slump here.

ARTIST: BUILDING 429

ALBUM: IRIS TO IRIS (Word Records)

Much of a band's appeal lies in the lead singer's voice, and Jason Roy's distinctive vocals have helped make Building 429 one of the Christian industry's most successful new bands. Roy, who is also the band's principal songwriter, has a warm, rough-textured voice that is equally effective on the gorgeous ballad "Waiting to Shine" and the soaring, anthemic "Power of Your Name." The group definitely takes a more worshipful direction on this collection and "Majesty" is a shining example. "You Carried Me" is a poignant song of hope and faith that should be as big a hit as the band's 2004 breakthrough, "Glory Defined." All in all, this is a strong addition to Building 429's already impressive resume.

ARTIST: BALKAN BEAT BOX

ALBUM: NU MED (JDub Records)

In Roman mythology, the Titan god Saturn, fearing that one of his sons would overthrow him, ate his infant sons. Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan, co-founders of Balkan Beat Box, have apparently eaten all the music from Mecca to the Bronx. The result of this musical repast is "Nu Med," an album that is the working definition of cross-pollenization. "Keep 'Em Straight (Intro)" and "Hermetico" set the groove. You're hearing shades of Balkan Gypsy brass band music, rap, klezmer, drum 'n' bass, electronica and North Africa. The BBB sound is the entire Mediterranean world splattered across a map of American and European beats. These are some uncanny tunes, simultaneously invoking traditional Gypsy and Jewish music and the techno, hip-hop and dancehall songs you downloaded yesterday on your iPod.

ARTIST: FICTION PLANE

ALBUM: LEFT SIDE OF THE BRAIN (Bieler Bros. Records)

Let's get it out on the table: Fiction Plane's Joe Sumner is a dead vocal ringer for Sting, which isn't a surprise, since he's the Police frontman's firstborn. If you can get past that familial resemblance and some other obvious Police references (the "Bring on the Night"-style arpeggio on "Presuppose"), there's a lot to like on Fiction Plane's first album since 2003. The martial snap and Edge-y guitars of "Anyone" will sound huge in stadiums when Fiction Plane opens for the Police this summer, while the pogo-ing "Two Sisters" could be the band's first radio hit. Even if his lyrics occasionally flummox, Sumner has his dad's way with a melody, be it on rockers like the angry "Death Machine," the don't-mistake-sex-for-love tale "It's a Lie" and the reverb-laden closer "Fake Light From the Sun."

ARTIST: THE BRAVERY

ALBUM: THE SUN AND THE MOON (Island Records)

The Bravery remains the band most likely to please those who crave a fix of vintage New Wave, right down to the synth hooks and anthemic choruses. But on its second album, the New York quintet succeeds in sounding more like its own band, a group that works within familiar conventions but -- save for the angsty Cure-aping of "Split Me Wide Open" and the "London Calling" intro of "This Is Not the End" -- finds a way to sound distinct. The dance quotient isn't quite as high as it was on the Bravery's self-titled 2005 debut. Indeed, the overall mood is a bit more pensive and solemn (and eminently tuneful), incorporating strings and acoustic guitars on "Tragedy Bound" and "The Ocean" and ringing, midtempo ambience on "Bad Sun," "Fist Full of Sand" and the single "Time Won't Let Me Go."

ARTIST: DUNGEN

ALBUM: TIO BITAR (Kemado Records)

Swedish rock outfit Dungen returns with more fuzz-out psychedelic flair on its latest effort, "Tio Bitar" ("Ten Pieces"). Like on 2004's breakthrough "Ta Det Lugnt," mastermind Gustav Ejstes puts his multi-instrumental and production skills to work. The melodic "Familj" is laced with breezy organ and light drum fills. "Du Ska Inte Tro Att Det Ordnar Sig" and "Mon Amour" likewise boast catchy, all Swedish-sung harmonies, with the latter, which clocks in at almost nine minutes, sprawling into a wash of guitar feedback. Although the arrangements remain impressive, there are moments when it feels as though Dungen should stick with a quicker pace, particularly on the instrumental "Caroline Visar Vagen" and "En Gang I Ar Kom Det En Tar." The alternating tempo of "Svart Ar Himlen" works well though, with its bouncy, raw guitar stretched between subtler bursts of flute and piano.

Reuters/Billboard