'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2' soundtrack review: ending on a high note

Much of the "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Soundtrack" (Summit/Chop Shop/Atlantic) falls into the vampire series' well-established musical pattern of breathy girls and earnest boys singing over atmospheric soundscapes. It's a sound as recognizably linked to the series as Kristen Stewart's pout and Robert Pattinson's furrowed brow.

There is more of a dance beat evident this time out, especially in Passion Pit's "Where I Come From" and Ellie Goulding's lovely "Bittersweet," while Green Day's "The Forgotten" provides a much-needed rock anthem.

However, it's a pair of real-life couples that offer this installment's most memorable moments. (No, not that couple.) Paul McDonald and wife Nikki Reed, "Twilight's" Rosalie, seem truly love struck on the gorgeous, indie-folk "All I've Ever Needed." The addition of Steve Kazee, star of Broadway's "Once," to girlfriend Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" makes the ballad even more heart-wrenching.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

"Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Soundtrack"

GRADE B

BOTTOM LINE Ending on a high note