Soundtrack - Grey's Anatomy, Volume 3

Grey's Anatomy's resident musical curator Alex Patsavas is the best in the business when it comes to selecting music to symbiotically bind with onscreen action. Fortunately, most of the songs sound great on their own as well. Pared down from the wide ranging music used in the show's last season with a few new tunes thrown in, Grey's Anatomy Volume 3 is a must for any fan of just-outside-the-mainstream pop.

It's impossible to resist digging further into the soundtrack when it kicks off with the breezy whistle-along of "Young Folks" by Swedish pop band Peter, Bjorn & John as enhanced by a guest turn form the Concretes' Victoria Bergsman. There's a string of pop tunes opening the album that might have you hitting the replay button on your digital music player for days. An initial hearing of The Bird and the Bee's "Again and Again" may make you think it is so light as to be on the verge of blowing away in a slight whisp of breeze, but fear not, the melody is tremendously durable. Feist's riff on Nina Simone that makes up "Sealion" may even make you forget her currently ubiquitous "1,2,3,4."

Some of the slower ballads that crowd the last half of Grey's Anatomy Volume 3 threaten to drag down the proceedings. However, Mat Kearney's "Breath In Breath Out," recorded for the upcoming season of Grey's Anatomy and this soundtrack collection, showcases the maturity of this rising artist. If there is any song here likely to replicate the success of "Chasing Cars," it is probably this song. The gently rising crescendo of sound gives tremendous resonance to the song's tale of the emotional push-pull of relationships.

One song that could nearly sell the entire soundtrack on its merits alone is Ingrid Michaelson's emotional gem "Keep Breathing" that was heavily featured in Grey's Anatomy's finale last season. A gentle piano propels a song that threatens to crumble in the fragility of Michaelson's voice, but by the end reassurance is gained by the simple fact that "All we can do is keep breathing."

• Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks
• Feist - Sealion
• Koop - Come to Me
• Mat Kearney - Breathe In Breathe Out
• Ingrid Michaelson - Keep Breathing

The average indie pop fan will be hitting the replay button after the first time through many of these songs. If there is any particular song to single out as a shining example of the discoveries Alex Patsavas makes for pop music fans, it is "Come to Me" by the electronic pop duo Koop. The idea behind the song is a combination of 30's swing and Caribbean textures. Impressively, the concept works well. You may even want to cut a rug or two yourself after listening.