2 new acts that deliver

Listening to hyped-up new music and artists is often “risky business.” Touted as the new so-and-so, or accompanied by PR pronouncements that use words like breakthrough and revolutionary, the actual listening is, more often than not, a letdown. By not making such world-changing claims, two new acts put something on the table that actually delivers within their specific genres, Rock and Pop/New Age respectively, and bode well for their future in the industry.

Dreaming Out Loud by One Republic (MCA Universal Music). One Republic first got on the radar in a big way by having one of its compositions, Apologize, given the Timbaland remix-treatment, and released as a plaintive, very appealing video. The Colorado-based band’s CD proves that Apologize was no fluke and that the musical texture and composing skills of the band are for real. There’s a lot of overlay and texture to its attack to music, and it gives the sound an orchestral quality. A lot of piano and cellos can be heard, and while most of the songs are mid-tempo, there’s definitive rock-based strains to be appreciated. It’s as if bands of yesteryear like Supertramp and Pink Floyd have been merged with Coldplay and Keane, and given strong pop sensibilities. I actually liked the sparser original version of Apologize, and can highly recommend tracks like Say (All I Need), All Fall Down and Goodbye Apathy.

Inside Out by Emmy Rossum (MCA Universal Music). The female lead of the film version of The Phantom of the Opera, and also having come out in Mystic River and The Day After Tomorrow, Emmy is not some actress-turned-singer, as she had her start in opera, singing with the Metropolitan Opera before snagging the Phantom role. She co-writes most of the songs on the CD, and uses her voice like an instrument, recording it over and over again to create something that has to be described as Ambient New Age Pop. There’s a little bit of Enya, a little bit of Imogen Heap and Sarah Brightman, and it’s all given a much more urban, young-ish feel, thanks to her lyrics. If there is a drawback to the debut CD, it’s that at times, the whole CD sounds like one long track. I’d like to have seen more variety, and the orchestral quality of the music not applied to every single track, Hopefully, her next CD will give us that.