Putumayo Presents: India

The latest release from New York-based Putumayo World Music plays much like its myriad other compilations. Putumayo specializes in grooving, laid-back samplings of musical cultures typically less explored by mainstream music consumers. And on its latest compilation, India, the label shows no signs of slowing down.

India takes the majority of its tracks from the popular Indian Bollywood film industry. Arguably the biggest name on the list is popular composer A. R. Rahman, who recently scored the film, Slumdog Millionaire. His contribution here, the slow, yet uplifting "Tere Bina," plays less like the dance-infused soundtrack of Slumdog and more like a standard pop ballad, but finds the same degree of success.

The consistency remains no matter into what song styles the album delves. Whether through odes to Hindu Gods (Uma Mohan's "Shiva Panchakshara Stotram/Shiva Shadakshara Stotram"), or simple combinations of Indian traditional sounds with jazz and folk music (Susheela Raman's "Nagumomo"), Putumayo has struck gold again.

How? At the core, these songs remain in the vein of standard popular music. But unlike the Mileys and Lady Gagas to which we're so accustomed, Putumayo serves us up something exotic. There's a bit more instrumentation, a bit more intelligence to this compilation than anything you'll here from U.S. pop. And in a genre that has long since produced any legitimate "artists," India is a breath of fresh air.