Next Stop Wonderland [coll] – [Verve/Polygram]

The soundtrack to director Brad Anderson’s debut film about looking for love in modern-day Boston is 100% bossa nova. Evenly weighted between classic tracks and specially-recorded cover versions and incidental music, this is perfect music for a hot summer day: easy on the ears but harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated. 1998 marks the 40th anniversary of the bossa nova; what better time to acquaint or re-acquaint yourself with its many charms?