‘The Hunger Games:
Catching Fire’ soundtrack
Various artists
The most impressive part of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” soundtrack is how cohesive it sounds, despite its wide array of contributors. Few would expect Coldplay, Christina Aguilera and The Weeknd to fit together, much less with punk poetess Patti Smith and New Zealand breakout star Lorde, but they do. Lorde’s version of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” brilliantly turns the Tears for Fears original on its head, stripping away everything earnest and chipper about it and playing up the haunting pieces that remain. The battle between the big percussion and Dan Reynolds’ vocals is compelling on Imagine Dragons’ “Who We Are,” which should add to the band’s winning streak. That could be said of pretty much everyone involved with the “Catching Fire” soundtrack, as everyone from buzzed-about bands like The Lumineers to club queens like Ellie Goulding delivers winners. ‘Some Things Never
Stay the Same’
Heidecker & Wood
In their return as soft-rock troubadours Heidecker & Wood, Tim Heidecker of “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” and Davin Wood, that show’s composer, continue their ridiculously faithful send-up of arguably rock’s most ridiculous era. Mining the bleary-eyed line between ’70s indulgence and ’80s uncertainty, the duo’s second album begins with its most overt gag, before the joke becomes just how closely they mirror the ramblings that once dribbled out of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman. Those who love this period as much as this pair does will enjoy this “Rutles”-style treatment.
‘Baptized’
Daughtry
Daughtry takes some cool chances on his fourth album, “Baptized.” The first single, “Waiting for Superman,” is a sleek change of pace, rolling together bits of The Fray and Bon Jovi into the patented Daughtry sound. But then there’s “Battleships,” with the stunningly weird chorus of “We love like battleships … And the cannon goes, ‘Boom boo-boom boom boo-boom boom boom,'” which is, well, crazy.
