With a gross-out factor befitting the turn of the millennium, 1999's American Pie succeeded by updating the classic American teen coming-of-age comedy in more ways than one. And if Jason Biggs foregoes his pie à la Jimmy for mere college high jinks in the sequel, the music here bounds along in a buzz-chord, double-time rush as if the gang never left high school. Dominated by the power-punk pop that's become the staple of contemporary mainstream rock, this album serves as an oft-loopy sampler. Fresh tracks from Green Day, Alien Ant Farm, American Hi-Fi, and Lucia are tempered by inviting, change-of-pace cuts from Angela Ammons, 3 Doors Down, and Oleander. Uncle Kracker's new "(I'm Gonna) Split This Room in Half" cuts through the punky bluster with some welcome hip-hop swagger, while "Phoebe Cates" by Fenix*TX pays amped-up homage to the much-lusted-after '80s teen queen. But as buoyant as the soundtrack is, it's also hard not to note that much of the music often teeters on the edge of cliché; indeed, the opening Blink 182/Green Day/Left Front Tire/American Hi-Fi salvo of tracks might sound to the uninitiated like they were all performed by the same band.
