In its third and fourth seasons, the music from AMC's wildly popular zombie series The Walking Dead got more adventurous, featuring songs from artists like
Waxahatchee and
the Mountain Goats along with the gritty fare reflecting the show's setting in rural Georgia. Though the soundtrack's second volume is just five songs long, it's a more appealing collection than its predecessor. Along with
Ben Nichols' fittingly grim "This Old Death,"
Lee DeWyze's "Blackbird Song" represents the bleak acoustic rock that has defined much of The Walking Dead's music while putting a more graceful and genuinely haunting spin on it. Elsewhere,
A.C. Newman's "Be Not So Fearful" allows some hope and redemption to peek through, while
Portugal. The Man's "Heavy Games" and
Sharon Van Etten's "Serpents (Basement)" provide a sweeping, searching drama that adds dimension to the more intimate songs here. While
Bear McCreary's excellent score is still woefully under-represented, this is still a promising set of music from one of TV's biggest shows. ~ Heather Phares