Music from The O.C.: Mix 4

1	Decent Days and Nights / The Futureheads 2:31
2	Goodnight and Go / Imogen Heap 3:51
3	Fortress / Pinback 4:09
4	On the Table / A.C. Newman 3:58
5	To Be Alone With You / Sufjan Stevens 2:45
6	Play / Flunk 4:03
7	Scarecrow / Beck 4:16
8	The View / Modest Mouse 4:10
9	Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights / Aqueduct 3:53
10	Cartwheels / The Reindeer Section 4:07
11	Eve, the Apple of My Eye / Bell X1 5:33
12	Champagne Supernova / matt pond PA 7:12

Barnes & Noble

Just how music-crazy are the makers of The O.C.? Before the conclusion of the FOX hit series' second season, they've released their fourth "mix" -- their term for soundtrack. It's like a love-struck boy who can't stop making compilation CDs for his new crush, which is a nice parallel to lead character Seth Cohen's indie rock obsession. You could sure do a lot worse than give your sweetie Music from the O.C.: Mix 4, which could easily pass for the creation of a real-life, Ben Sherman–wearing hipster with impeccable taste. You get the manic pop thrill of the Futureheads' "Decent Days and Nights" and A. C. Newman's "On the Table," alternative heavy hitters Beck ("Scarecrow") and Modest Mouse ("The View"), and a cover of Oasis' epic "Champagne Supernova" by newcomers Matt Pond PA -- the latter used memorably in a Spider-Man–inspired scene from Season 2, where Seth reconnects with his dream girl, Summer, over a rain-soaked kiss. Any mix worth listening two twice should also introduce even the most well informed music fan to some new band, and this might be your first exposure to the ethereal sounds of Flunk (who contribute the Björk-like "Play") and the quirky "Hardcore Day, Softcore Nights" by Seattle's Aqueduct. Though some still consider watching The O.C. a guilty pleasure, there's nothing embarrassing about listening to these groovy mixes. Bill Pearis

All Music Guide

With two other collections of music that appeared on the show, plus a Chrismukkah album, another collection of songs that appeared on The O.C. hardly seems necessary. However, The O.C. Mix 4 just might be the strongest volume of this serial soundtrack yet. The collection, which features sharp, smart indie rock like the Futureheads' "Decent Days and Nights" and A.C. Newman's "On the Table," as well as wistful ballads like Imogen Heap's "Goodnight and Go" and Bell X1's "Eve, the Apple of My Eye," is full of O.C-friendly music from artists who are slightly more off the beaten path than those who appeared on the previous soundtracks. Pinback, the Reindeer Section, and Flunk (whose pretty, frosty "Play" is one of the album's highlights) may not be as high profile as some of the other bands that have appeared on O.C. mixes -- although appearing on this one might change that -- but they work well in the show's musical context nonetheless, as does Sufjan Stevens' "To Be Alone With You." Of course, the album does have its fair share of bigger names: Modest Mouse's "The View" provides an encore to their Bait Shop appearance, and Beck's "Scarecrow" is a souvenir of the show's much-touted "Beckpisode," which debuted several tracks from his album Guero. As enjoyable as the mix is, it's not perfect: with most of the lively songs front-loaded, the album tends to peter out as it goes along, and nondescript tracks like Aqueduct's "Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights" and matt pond PA's cover of Oasis' "Champagne Supernova" don't help this impression. Still, The O.C. Mix 4 is solidly entertaining (and the cute sketches by Eric Wright and Matt Taylor that grace the album artwork make a great visual tie-in to Seth and Zach's hopes of launching a comic book). Heather Phares