KV Anand, Surya and Harris Jeyaraj are back in action with Maatraan. Having weaved magic before with Ayan and Ko, a lot of expectations were on the cards. The movie will feature Surya as twins (conjoined for a part). Hoping to see them make it big again, I started listening to the songs, each of which has a different lyricist working on the background. Once I was done, I wasn’t very surprised. If you are wise, you have guessed it already.

Rettai Kadhire - Krish, Balaji, Mili Nair, Sharmila

Lyrics: Na Muthukumar

Groovy beats, prominent chords and a lot of rapping put the opening song of the Maatraan soundtrack right down Harris Jeyaraj's alley. As the beats continue to pump with a lot of added effects, Krish and Balaji share the spoils from this one. While the former takes the more melodious parts of the song, Balaji does a good job with the more club-like pieces in the song. The string piece before the second stanza stands out from the rest of the song. Not very different from Harris, especially he gets two singers to share the lead.

Female voices of Mili Nair and Sharmila handle raps, lyric-less hums and take care of the English lines, making the song slightly more modern than one might expect. Na Muthukumar's lyrics are rather interesting for trying to cover the life of conjoined twins. Typical words for an opening number blended with some added freshness called to action by the situation. Easily the catchiest song of the album.

Kaal Mulaitha Poove - Javed Ali, Mahalakshmi Iyer

Lyrics: Madhan Karky

This song stands out from the rest for just one reason – it's very unnatural blend of music and sort of foreign. I could see that it was reminiscent of ARR's Sundari and Hawaa Hawaa and even "Pala Palakura" from Ayan. When the song proceeds in a pacy manner, interludes are a bit of contrast and slow.

Javed Ali reminds of the voice we heard in Sarvam's "Siragugal". His odd pronunciations make the song less than pleasant, especially when he hits the high notes and sings too quickly for anybody's liking. Mahalakshmi Iyer comes to rescue, but she doesn't get enough time to save and turn things around. Madhan Karky's lyrics, which would have been wonderful otherwise, loses weightage because they are pieces that don’t fit into the puzzle. Overall, it does not strike a chord but is bearable (maybe a bit enjoyable) because of the beats.

Theeye Theeye – Franco, Sathyan, Aalap Raju, Charulatha Mani, Suchitra

Lyrics: Pa Vijay

Featuring a plethora of singers, "Theenda Theenda" finds a safe spot between club item song and subtle drink song. While normal listeners won’t be able to spot the difference, the additional voices help during chorus pieces and the points which demand a little more attention. It almost started like "Thoodhu Varuma" and continued in the pattern but the charanams were rather slow for an item song.

Charulatha Mani who sang "Chillax" comes up with another sexy rendition, with Suchitra backing her up now and then. Franco, Sathyan and Aalap are all smaller parts of a bigger picture and fall on the song's grooves for support. Pa Vijay's picturization are dark and call for secret desires, but suddenly get toned down a couple of degrees with a few lines. Interesting, groovy, but not a chartbuster.

Yaaro Yaaro – Karthik, Priya Himesh

Lyrics: Thaamarai

This one's another song with very familiar tones that sound like 7aam Arivu's "Yamma Yamma" and a very diluted version of "Anjala". Piano chords and flute usages add some soul and ensure that it doesn’t go down the drain quickly. Karthik seems to have gotten used to singing top many sad love failure numbers these days. With nothing out of the ordinary, the interludes between the tracks are the only lines that bring your attention back (you are left straying).

Priya Himesh does some soft humming with the interludes, even as the folk beats continue to run. Meanwhile, you are left searching for the next button. Thamarai pens for this track, which is quite surprising after seeing her come up with fast-paced numbers for Harris before. I wonder where all the flare has gone.

Naan Koni - Vijay Prakash, Karthik, Shreya Ghoshal

Lyrics: Viveka

One of the better songs in the album, Naan Koni is refreshing after listening to the more typical Harris numbers. Guitar chords give company throughout and it has a sort of Spanish touch to it, just like Kaal Mulaitha Poove, only lesser. There seem to be two parts to the song, one each probably to be taken by the Surya twins. Vijay Prakash's buttery voice brings out the best in a track that has been heard of so many times.

Karthik takes over things in the second stanza and continues the flow. Shreya Ghoshal is as expressive as ever. This time, it's Viveka writing, and its prominence is just about noticeable. I would have been more happy if I had seen something like Nanban's "Asku Lasku", but you cannot expect top quality all the time and we are settling for something that isn’t so bad.

Overall, the soundtrack is just about anything we can expect from Harris Jeyaraj today. One cannot write it off, for they are not bad. But, people are getting used to listening to the same kind of music from Harris and he really needs to take things to another level if he wants to make a lasting impression (like he used to). The soundtrack is enjoyable, but just doesn't make your heart skip a beat. Until the master decides to do something, we will be listening to good tracks that make you wonder where you have heard it before. But his means do guarantee more than adequate music when you are making a movie.

Rating - 3.5/5 - for sticking to the recipe and making the dish the right way

Verdict - Just holding on to the good recipes and not trying to cook anything else