For the first time in television history, a mixtape heard in an episode will become a soundtrack album. Containing hits from artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Dashboard Confessional and The Wreckers, The Road Trip is another innovative musical breakthrough for a series that continues to be an indie showcase.
Key to the success of this prime-time teen soap opera has been a mix of contemporary rock and pop that musically embroiders the show's increasingly complex mix of hope, fear, and youthful angst with often melodramatic flair. This third volume of songs from the successful series continues in that tradition while, as the title suggests, exploring a little wider artistic range. "Don't Wait" by Dashboard Confessional and the Honorary Title's "Stay Away" immediately anchor the set with a familiar tone of urgency, while star Tyler Hilton offers up another expected sensitive acoustic ballad in "You'll Ask for Me." But elsewhere, the collection admirably pushes the envelope via such tasty, eclectic morsels as the infectious pop of the Kooks' "Naïve," Gym Class Heroes turning "Good Vibrations" into a stripped-down shuffle, and the effusive hip-hop-pop of Lupe Fiasco's "I Gotcha." But it's still a collection centered largely on the contemplative, indie spirit embodied by the Wreckers' gorgeous "Lay Me Down," Lucero's emotive dirge "Tell Me What It Takes," and the Constantines' similarly focused "Soon Enough." --Jerry McCulley
