Well, it won't change your life, but it will chill you out. The Garden State soundtrack is a collection of songs that while away the hours in a leisurely, almost trance-like ether that echoes the emotional disconnectedness of the film's protagonist, Andrew Largeman (writer/director Zach Braff). Favoring a style of music best described as gentle rock, the album creates a mood not unlike the soundtracks to Wes Anderson's Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, with modern acts standing in for 60's icons.

Starting with soundtrack faves Coldplay, the album begins with the moody strains of "Don't Panic," as does the film. An apt title given the medicated state in which Andrew finds himself as the film opens. "We live in a beautiful world," Chris Martin sings, but Andrew is merely an observer.

Indie rockers du jour The Shins then chime in with "Caring is Creepy," which continues the theme of emotional detachment, but is the weaker of their two contributions to the CD. Echoey and distant, it fails to capture the intimacy of most of the other tracks on the album and in the film serves only to punctuate Andrew's first ride in his deceased grandfather's motorcycle. Their second track, "New Slang," fits far more into the groove, with stripped down instrumentation and lyrical melodies. It is, in fact, the song that Sam (Natalie Portman) claims will change Andrew's life. Though it probably won't have the same effect on you, it might at least make you a Shins fan.

For sheer depression, it's hard to beat the Colin Hay (of Men at Work fame) track "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You." Even the title is depressing. Hay, who appeared on the "Scrubs" soundtrack (as well as on the show itself), conveys a pretty pathos not unlike that of Duncan Sheik, just with a slightly grittier voice. In the film it's given added gravitas when put into the context of Andrew's mother's death.

The album's most soft-spoken artists are Nick Drake and Iron and Wine. Drake's "One of These Things First" seems to emerge from a Vince Guaraldi album, with a light, syncopated drumbeat and flowing bassline over which Drake's soft tenor rasps eloquently. In the film, it marks the beginning of Andrew's journey with his friend Mark (Peter Sarsgaard) to track down a gift Mark has prepared for him.

Iron and Wine's cover of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights," is the gentlest of the gentle rockers on this album. Samuel Beam's voice (Iron and Wine is his stage name) seems so fragile that any instrumentation beyond the single acoustic guitar that accompanies him might break him in two. The soft, doubled whisper of his melody creates a delicate vessel for imparted wisdom. "Everything looks perfect from far away." An apt quote for the film's suburban setting. In the film, it's put to good use as an emotional backdrop for one of the most intimate scenes.

When not highlighting acoustic, folk-driven acts, the soundtrack offers more electronic, groove-inflected artists like Zero 7, whose "In the Waiting Line," evokes equal parts Massive Attack and Everything But the Girl to provide a trippy atmosphere for Andrew's drugged-out first night in town. Thievery Corporation's "Lebanese Blonde" brings a Middle Eastern texture to a subdued trip-hop vibe that punctuates the slo-mo entrance of our protagonists into a hotel for one of the most out-there scenes in the film. A scene that features Method Man who, sadly, does not appear on the soundtrack. Also not making the cut is Aunt Sylvia's (Jackie Hoffman) priceless rendition of "Three Times a Lady."

By far, though, the most memorable electronic track on the album has to be Frou Frou's "Let Go," which graces one of the film's more popular trailers and scores the closing scene. At the outset, it seems like a brand new Smashing Pumpkins track (lead singer Imogen Heap must be related to Billy Corgan), but it soon flows into an upbeat, airy techno tune that conveys a new dawn. "It's all right. Cos' there's beauty in breakdown." Which is sort of the point of the film. Andrew's reconnection to his emotion, while painful, is welcome.

The standout track, echoing the Wes Anderson strategy, is actually from the past, and is not unique to the soundtrack. Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York," used to great effect in Tadpole, is used to equally great effect here, as Andrew and his companions climb to the top of the junked cab of a construction crane to scream into an abyss. This is, in fact, the image that graces the cover of the soundtrack. The song itself is a revelation, with vast, choral harmonies contrasted with simple instrumentation and Paul Simon's lonely but strangely soothing vocals.

Not all of the tracks are standouts. Cary Brothers' "Blue Eyes" is a more conventional, waltzy affair. Onscreen, it serves as generic background bar filler. "Fair," Remy Zero's contribution, comes at a more memorable moment in the film, underscoring Sam's attempts to cheer up Andrew, but on its own makes less of an impression. Their more famous number, "Save Me," (from the Smallville opening credits) packs more emotional punch. Bonnie Somerville's "Winding Road" is similarly forgettable, which is just as well since it only appears in the second half of the end credits.

Finally, it should be noted that the soundtrack is worth buying on CD rather than as a download if for no other reason than Zach Braff's hysterical liner notes referencing the anti-piracy ad that appears before virtually every film in theaters these days.

The soft-spoken delivery of most of the performers on the album echoes the soft-spoken delivery of Andrew, who manages to keep it fairly down even when confronting his father. This fits with the overall mood of the film, which gently (though hilariously) pokes fun at its major characters while inviting us to sympathize with their shortcomings. As nothing is shouted in the film, nothing is shouted on the soundtrack. The result is an album that could while away a rainy afternoon just as easily as it could provide the backdrop for writing a term paper. Unobtrusive, but if you bother to pay attention, utterly engaging.