Wish I Was Here (Music From the Motion Picture)

Anchored by The Shins' "New Slang," the soundtrack to Zach Braff's Garden State introduced winsome indie rock to a wider audience. Braff tops himself for the soundtrack to that film's follow-up, Wish I Was Here. He recruited the dormant Shins to pen a new original song, the soaring, characteristically catchy "So Now What." Equally impressive is the unprecedented pairing of Cat Power and Coldplay on the title track, a melancholy piano ballad that recalls Randy Newman's ability to capture a film's essence with a single song. As with Garden State's track list, some of the highlights here are from smaller names, such as "The Mute" by Radical Face and "Mexico" by folk-pop troupe Jump Little Children. Then again, "Heavenly Father," a new original tune from the ethereal crooner Bon Iver, is pretty cool too.