Various: Bend It Like Beckham soundtrack

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

Having spent time in the company of a pre-teen who spent the entire weekend driving the adults around her up the wall with impressions of the mum from the hit Anglo-Asian screen comedy, it felt like a mixed blessing when its soundtrack arrived complete with snatches of dialogue. Likewise, having it include charmless songs from Victoria Beckham (I Wish) and former team-mate Mel C (Independence Day) seems just as worrying.

However, the Asian dancepop tracks which dominate it make it both infectious and not a little educational. That's whether it's delivering the Bollywood giddiness of B21's Darshan and Bina Mistry's version of Hot Hot Hot, or the downbeat, chant-heavy likes of Malkit Singh's Jind Mahi and Bally Sagoo's Noorie.

Add a couple of Western classics — Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up and Blondie's Atomic — and this soundtrack has almost as much feelgood factor as the movie itself.

Label: Shock