Prayanam(Telugu,Mahesh Shankar)

YYW has a kick-ass tune(Especially the chorus)moulded with really catchy hooks in the middle and Ranjith along with Vishal Dadlani(Yea!)deliver the goods in style-One scintillating package!..The composer goes behind the mike along with Smita in the wonderful Nuvvu Entha and it is Smita's vocals which works big time in this track-Iam particularly addicted to this track!..Amrithavarshini's Meghama is nothing short of an achievement-Making a small kid to sing a whole song is just laudable.And the tune of the song is just suited to the girl's voice!..Mahesh Shankar hits back with vengeance in this OST-Already so short that this soundtrack is(This soundtrack is so annoyingly short,whether it is the length of each track or the number of songs!),the impact it has managed to make is awesome-Kudos to Mahesh Shankar!

Valmiki(Tamil,Ilaiyaraja)

Even with the mind-blowing tune,Koodavaruviya's excellent work in the interludes by Raja stands out more than anything else while Oli Tharum Sooriyan is nothing short of a stunner from Raja-Two delightful melodies that can make any listener go crazy!..Tippu's Rekka Katti Parakkuthu is punchy while Achchadicha Kaasa,even with an outdated tune is functional.Poo Sirikkuthu has a typical Raja tune but with soft modern arrangements that surprisingly works in favour of the song while Raja's own Ennada Paandi is corny and absolutely catchy!..The final track,Thendralum Maruthu's tune is way too similar to Raja's tracks and the synth doesn't help either.Ilaiyaraja continues from where he took over in Azhagarmalai and delivers another fantastic soundtrack!..

Ride(Telugu,Hemachandra)

Edo Edo is one ambient and catchy melody sung with verve by the composer while Maahive with an interesting tune catchy and is good fun!..Clinton and Venu's Rangula Lokam,with some explosive backgrounds also works while the title song has an outdated tune,but with decent backgrounds.Hemachandra goes behind the mike again and croons superbly in the catchy and hushed melody,Naa Manasantha.The theme music is punchy and listenable but the highlight of the soundtrack is Dhanchave Menatha Koothura's remix-Already corny track that it is,its given a completely new flavour by the composer.Mindblowing song!..Hemachandra's debut soundtrack is fabulously competent!..

Oye(Telugu,Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Thr rocking title song goes one step ahead with that damn hot tune that works exceedingly well and is also very well sung by Siddharth.Karthik and Sunidhi Chauhan's Saradaga is just the trademark Yuvan track when it comes to telugu and works well while Kay Kay's haunting Waiting for you is so well tuned and has Yuvan going back to his 7G and Manmadhan high!..Shreya Ghoshal's exceptional vocals along with sparkling interludes in Anukoledenadu are the major highpoints and the song works instantly.Yuvan's own Povadhe Prema is so unconventional and mature and is almost like a Rahman track.Yuvan's vocals also surprisingly works for this track!..Toshi and Priya's Seheri is another imaginatively arranged and incredibly catchy number-The transition from the fast rap to the slow tune in the paragraphs is worth a mention!..Yuvan is in sparkling form in Siddharth's latest flick,Oye!..Oh my god what a year he's having!!..

Kanthasamy(Tamil,Devi Sri Prasad)

Allegra is aped to an uncomfortable level from Shakira's style and the song itself is so simplistic and monotonous while Malathy's En Peru Meenakumari,despite the groovy backgrounds is ridiculous.Excuse Me manages to stay afloat not because of Vikram's vocals or because of the annoying convo in the middle,but because of the work done in the orchestration department by Devi.The breathless Idhellam Dupe,with corny lyrics is one enjoyable ride while Mambo Maamiya has Devi toying with a standard tune with no improvisations whatsoever.Meow Meow is reminiscent of Devi's earlier compositions and also falters.The frustrating title track gets worse with Devi deciding to croon it himself and ultimately makes a fool of himself.The DSP mix,thankfully works as it involves quite a less amount of screaming from him than expected and offers some exciting backgrounds.Devi Sri Prasad surely has to go in for a radical change because he seems to be getting nowhere with this soundtrack.

Moscowin Kaveri(Tamil,SS Thaman)

Aanum Pennum starts off pretty ordinarily but progresses with a good rhythm and ultimately works.Adhigalai Pookkal is a very good attempt-One catchy tune punctuated by backgrounds from different musical genres shows the composer's imagination.And the song has some spirited vocals from Vardhani Thaman and Shankar Mahadevan along with some quirky lyrics.Thaman uses his Gore Gore track from his recent Telugu OST,Kick to produce mixed results while Naresh Iyer and Suchitra's Thaen Mutham,with all the catchy elements thrown in,is packaged well.Nee Ondrum is catchy no doubt,but has all the age-old hooks but in Gramam Thedi,Thaman strikes gold-The carefree enjoyable tune is just infectious and Thaman adds some significant charm to the track with some interesting hooks-One helluva track!..After two average soundtracks,Thaman bounces back with Moscowin Kaveri.

Vedigundu Murugesan(Tamil,Dheena)

Bombay Jayashree's Neenda Dooram clearly has generous sprinklings from the composer's earlier hit song that he dished out for Jayashree in Uppu Kallu,but Dhina's creativity for sure is evident in the interludes.In the other version,Yesudas sounds really weird!..Manjapattu has a stock tune that is forgotten instantly while Rootoram Veetukkari,barring those funny hooks added in the middle doesn't work that well.Shankar Mahadevan's Sirippukkari has striking backgrounds with a neat tune that works quite well and the use of guitar is clearly the highlight.Madhu Balakrishnan and Madhushree's Saarale Saarale is the best in this soundtrack-The engaging tune and the right elements added along with good vocals work in favour of the song and is infact delightful.Composer Dheena manages to come up with an above average soundtrack in Vedigundu Murugesan.

Muththirai(Tamil,Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Neha Bhasin completely gets into her stride with her outstanding vocals in the catchy Om Shanti Om but the predictable chorus is a let down.Mohd Aslam almost seems to be a misfit in the ambient and charming July Madhathil but it is Rahul Nambiyar's vocals that hits the deck in this track!..Uyire Uyire,with a predictable tune falls flat and Javed Ali and Madhushree's disastrous pronunciation just gets into my nerves.The short Pathos-laden track,Nenjukulla just doesn't work from the start and the weirdly placed Mangalyam hook is silly.Azhagaana Neeyum and Night is still young are the soundtracks highlights-The hummable tune with interesting orchestration are the highpoints in the former while Krish,Benny Dayal and Preethi simply rock in the latter and the neat enjoyable tune just works instantly.Barring 2 routine tracks,Yuvan's Muththirai works!..

Angaadi Theru(Tamil,G.V.Prakash-Vijay Antony)

GV.Prakash springs a complete surprise with his amazing vocals in the haunting Un Perai which also has some wonderful interludes.Benny sounds great in the Yuvan styled,Enge Poveno but the song becomes a tad jarring when it progresses.Benny's Kathaigal Pesum is mindblowing-The very interesting orchestration added with the amazing tune works wonders.The imaginative hook after the first paragraph is quirky!..Suresh Iyyer and Shreya Ghoshal's Kannil Theriyum Vaanam with the neat rhythm also works,but the predictable tune is a let down.Prasanna's Aval Appadi Ondrum has cheesy lyrics concocted with some classical tune and backgrounds which is very innovative indeed.The pick of the soundtrack,however is Karthik and "Nellai-Boys" Mahesh's Karungali Naaye-A Punchy tune and imaginative hooks added with funny lyrics makes for some vibrant and pointless fun!..After Veyyil,G.V.Prakash-Vasantha Balan combination works again!..

Azhagarmalai(Tamil,Ilaiyaraja)

Thinking about all the recent IR soundtracks that has been tainted by the usage of synth,If you thought Ilaiyaraja's career was over,Here is what he gives you-Azhagarmalai!..Raja himself pitches in with his vocals in the tuneful and a completely delightful Ulagam Ippo complete with very good lyrics.Bhavatharini's Unnai Enakku is considerably catchy and has some really stunning interludes by Raja that takes the song somewhere.Madhu Balakrishnan's Kezaku Velukuthu is supremely amazing-the 80's tune added with modern backrounds works big time and Madhu Balakrishnan(Who is not into singing much folk)pulls off this track with style.Madhu Balakrishnan's other track,Muthama is one helluva catchy number-goes back to Raja's late 80s and early 90s and Raja shows his dexterity in the orchestration department.Its the backgrounds that completely dominate the immensely addictive melody,Karuga Mani and Raja simply weaves magic in the interludes(Especially the extended 2nd interlude!).The final track,Enna Senjalum goes to back to the Ramarajan days and is sung with so much confidence by Tippu and Ponni.Ilaiyaraja returns to his supreme best in this low profile movie,Azhagarmalai!..

Mukhaputa(Kannada,Hamsalekha)

Anuradha Bhat and Hiranmayi's Minuguthare has disastrous lyrics and a simplistic tune which makes no impact whatsoever while Hiranmayi's Amma Amma goes one step ahead in boring the listeners with a stock tune that doesn't work at all.Badriprasad's title track too falls in the Pathos-genre but thankfully,it works due to the heartfelt rendition by Badriprasad and apt backgrounds.The short track,Nisapaa has a free-flowing rhythm with lilting carnatic layers thoughout the song that works big time and is also sung beautifully by Badriprasad.The devotional Ajam Nirvikalpam,sung again by Badriprasad is the pick of the soundtrack-the mood it conveys is evident throughout the song!..Even though the overall sound is largely outdated,Three tracks work in this OST by Hamsalekha.

Parichaya(Kannada,Jassie Gift)

Baba Sehgal's Jeo Jeenedho Yaaro is an outdated techno-laden track that is uninteresting even though the overall sound is catchy.Ditto to Alisha Chinai's Jigi Jigi Jigidu-The tune is overwhelmingly familiar,but I cant quite recall where i've heard it though.Kopa Beda,with a seemingly boring tune just gets into nerves while Shaan's Kudinotave thankfully is tuneful and is hummable with catchy interludes.Nadedaaduva's immensely catchy tune and KK's ever-attractive vocals make it very impressive while Kailash Kher's pathos-laden O Nanna is suited to Kailash and is absorbing alright but there seems to be something missing in the song.Two tracks stand out in this otherwise routine soundtrack by Jassie Gift.

Kavithai Gundar(Tamil Hip Hop-Emcee Jesz)

The only small thing(But makes all the difference) that differentiates Yogi B's super-hit last album,Natchatra and this album by Jesz is that the latter's album had(which also had Jesz in it)the Tamil rap which is their area of expertise but it was also loaded with some extra-ordinary tunes added with some subtle arrangements which was the reason why it worked big time but that seems to be missing in this album.So basically all this album has is a spree of fast rap mouthed by Jesz(And others)in all the tracks which predictably turns out to be invariantly uninteresting.But there are of course exceptions-Both the versions,Chaahathe and Thaniye by Neha Bhasin work solely due to her excellent vocals.The other tracks that click are Mista Gee and MC Loga's Kadhal Kaviyeh(Which has a rocking chorus),Vel Vel and Bad Boy(My Sara and MC Loga).Emcee Jesz's latest and much-hyped album,Kavithai Gundar is non-functional for the most part!..