After a brief break, director Vikraman is back with an urban story, Chennai Kadhal. The music has been composed by Joshua Sridhar, who showed much promise in his debut film, Kadhal. The music of Chennai Kadhal shows Kadhal was no flash in the pan.

The opening number, Angel Angel Kannil Pattathu, sets the tone for the album, which has a mix of fast Western beats, melody, strains of rap and even folk. This peppy track has a fascinating rhythm. Singers Karthik and Suneetha effectively bring out the sentiments and passion in Pa Vijay's lyrics.

Thimire Thimire..., sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and Swetha, is a romantic number with the right kind of lyrics. The song, which has a soft, melancholy touch throughout, also has strains of classical music.

Salladai Salladai... another romantic duet sung playfully by Karthik and Swetha, has a rustic feel to it.

The short Western-style title track has a steadily accelerating tempo.

The opening number on side B, Enjoy Enjoy, is a celebration of life and the carefree attitude of youth. It has enough zing to it to prompt you to shake a leg. Rigorous instrumentation and stunning rendition by Ranjith and Blaze -- including a bit of rap --make this racy number full of testosterone. Pa Vijay's lyrics are full of urban images.

Silusilukkum Silmishi, sung with gusto by Naresh Iyer and Kalpana, begins very much like a throwback to Rahman's Urvashi Urvashi� It is a sensuous, romantic number with racy beats. Sridhar has put lively Western beats, deftly changing tunes with one tune gliding into another effortlessly. The pleasing rhythm is another plus point. Kalpana's shrill voice is the only drawback.   

Randamjamam, sung by Hariharan [Images] and Sangeetha, is again a melodious song with an energetic backing score. Sangeetha -- with her voice well modulated to suit the folk genre -- holds her own with Hariharan. Western orchestration and the folk tune sound nice in this number too.

The bottom line: The soundtrack of Chennai Kadhal -- a film meant for the urban youth, as the title indicates -- is an audience-friendly album.

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