Notes & Personnel Info |  | Zach Braff's 2004 film, GARDEN STATE, introduced indie-rockers the Shins to a huge audience, propelling that band into well-deserved mainstream stardom. One wonders how many guitar-wielding waifs lined up outside Braff's door wanting to be on the soundtrack of his 2006 film, LAST KISS. While the majority of artists on this mellow, wryly melodic collection are already stars in their own right (Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, Coldplay), it looks like Joshua Radin may be the next Braff-blessed boy to get a career jolt. His plaintive folk-guitar ballad "Star Mile" is the centerpiece of the album; it evokes Elliott Smith, the aforementioned Shins, and Simon & Garfunkel with its achingly sweet harmonies and acoustic purity. Also present are Rufus Wainwright's self-deprecating addiction ditty "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," and Snow Patrol's delicious 2004 hit "Chocolate." | | The soundtrack to The Last Kiss proves that Zach Braff's Garden State Grammy was no fluke; here again, he's assembled an artful hodgepodge both charming and substantial. Balancing out the hipness of British indie darlings Snow Patrol ("Chocolate") and Turin Brakes ("Pain Killer") is a batch of adult alternative gems few sensitive-minded thirty-somethings could resist: Aimee Mann deadpans her way masterfully through "Today's the Day" while Rufus Wainwright rues his unwholesomeness on "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," and Amos Lee falls hopelessly into the "Arms of a Woman" while Fiona Apple contemplates the poetry made possible by a "Paper Bag." Like a hipster fashionista unafraid to mix high and low, Braff intertwines megastars (Coldplay) and unknowns (Athlete) for an effect at once welcoming and provocative. The standout track is Ray LaMontagne's completely devastating "Hold You in My Arms," but Braff fans could be forgiven for getting the notion that he favors Cary Brothers' "Ride." In fact, some might suspect Brothers is Braff's pseudonym: not only did he carry over Brothers, the disc's only unsigned artist, from the Garden State soundtrack, he also did Brothers the favor of directing the "Ride" video. ~ Tammy La Gorce |
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