When it comes to reviewing this soundtrack, I’m at a distinct disadvantage on two fronts. First off, I’ve never heard anything before from the composer, A.R. Rahman. Secondly (and probably more importantly), I haven’t had a chance to see the much-beloved Slumdog Millionaire yet. So I have no idea how this music actually fits into the overall structure of the film. But the Golden Globes thought highly enough of this soundtrack to give it their best score of the year award. So there you go. Of course, one of my favorite scores from last year, for The Dark Knight, wasn’t even nominated. But I guess that’s a fight for another time.

I bring these points up to simply say, take this review with at least two grains of salt.

That said, I actually liked most of the stuff on here. It’s not strictly traditional Indian music, more a slight mix of that style with a techno-charged sound. Hip-hop artist M.I.A. makes a couple of appearances, both on the first track “O…Saya” and with her own hit, “Paper Planes.” If you saw the previews for The Pineapple Express last year, you know which song I’m talking about. It’s very catchy. So catchy, that the track after it is actually a DFA remix of the very same song! Thankfully, it’s a creative remix (shoot, it’s DFA), so it’s not too repetitive, even back-to-back.

Beyond that, the rest of the album is filled with dancehall-friendly cuts, featuring a cavalcade of artists who I can only assume are very popular in India. It’s not bad, but after a full record of this, it gets a little old.

Ultimately, this is a fairly solid soundtrack, if somewhat repetitive stylistically. I might feel more strongly about it if I had actually seen the film, but we’ve covered that ground already. If you’re in the mood for an upbeat score, this would be a decent pick.