Elektra: The Album

This Jennifer Garner-starring film version Marvel Comics' martial arts expert/assassin-as-superhero never quite found its focus as successful big-screen adaptation. But its modern-rock song-score "Album" (Christophe Beck's more traditional orchestral score is also available) has no such obstacle, gathering together new recordings that punctuate the film's milieu with often forceful effectiveness. Jet keeps things lively with "Hey Kids," another rollicking dose of snotty retro-pop from the Aussie newcomers, while "Breathe No More" by Evanescence (previously only available as a live cut) is essentially a solo showcase for the emotive moodiness of singer Amy Lee's dusky voice, yet one that finds ample resonance with the film's title character. A shadowy remix of Finger Eleven's "Thousand Mile Wish," Taking Back Sunday's new "Your Own Disaster" and Strata's "Never There" mine a similarly introspective vein, contrasting well with more lively cuts like The Donnas' "Everything Is Wrong" and "5 Years" by NYC's Twenty-Twos. --Jerry McCulley