Director Vasanth is back after a short hiatus with the Tamil film Sathum Podaathay starring Prithviraj and Padmapriya.

Music and lyrics are by Yuvan Shankar Raja and Na Muthukumar, respectively. Incidentally, this film marks the coming together of Vasanth and Yuvan after Poovellam Kettupaar.

The film's audio launch kicked off with much fanfare as popular music directors of the present generation like Srikanth Deva, D Imman, Vijay Antony and G V Prakash introduced each song to the tunes of live music by Yuvan's troupe.

This five-track album has succeeded in breaking out of clich�d confines and the credit goes to Yuvan for making singers Shankar Mahadevan [Images], Shreya Ghosal and Sudha Raghunathan render songs in different genres.

The album starts off on a pleasant note with Azhagu Kutti Chellam, a Shankar Mahadevan number which is high on sentiment and entirely different from his usual repertoire. The simple tune and rhythm embellished with nadaswaram and guitar interludes touch a tender chord.

The swara swirls and extended alap add a classical flavour to the number. Shankar Mahadevan switching from soft to loud has rendered it with great feel and sensitivity making it the pick of the album. No wonder, the composer felt it worth repeating later in the album.

Yuvan joins Adnan Sami in the next number, O Intha Kadhal  in western style. Again the rhythm is simple with lyrics describing the sweet pain of love. Impressive instrumentation with sax, flute and guitar interludes is the highlight of this track. However, this is not one of the best efforts of Sami.

Yuvan engages the band Viva Girls for the next piece, Pesugiren Pesugiren. The song is light western in style and high on melody. Instrumentation is minimum, that too only in the interludes. That combined with the laid-back style of rendition makes it sound lacklustre.

Yuvan presents an entirely different Shreya Ghosal in the romantic duet, Entha Kuthirayil. The syrupy melodies that Shreya is famous for are given a go here, and along with Rahul Nambiar, the result is a peppy number with a judicious mix of slow and fast beats.

The number starts off on a low key and then gains in tempo (both vocals and instrumentation) at certain points sounding almost like an item number. The mandolin interlude, fast beats and impressive chorus pour energy into the track. Rahul's voice suits the sensuous feel of the number.

Yuvan wraps up the album with a surprise item, Kadhal Periyatha rendered by classical vocalist Sudha Raghunathan. Trumpet strains herald this energetic number with fast beats, hip-hop interlude and impressive chorus. Lyrics describe love and lust and the contrasting changes both bring on the human mind and life itself.

The repeated chanting of Krishna...Krishna in between adds to its philosophical overtone. The singer has done creditably well in rendering this track, which is far removed from her usual forte.

Though Yuvan has steered clear of his favourite cosmetic trappings like rap and remixes, he still managed to bring out a youthful album.

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