Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion
[Casablanca]

A terse The Country Girl-esque noire element opens up the doors to a flighty glam/pop swirl, returning for bracing interludes to signal the comeback of the off-kilter Mika, in the form of ‘Grace Kelly’. The power of the Polyphonic Spree, the wistfulness of Jim Noir and the je nais se qua of Queen meet up in the musical orbit of this flighty ten track wonder.

‘My Interpretation’ stands toe to toe with The Magic Numbers and The Mamas & The Papas, to send you flying back to the times when your spleen was vented with deep seated vocal projection and a glorious, ranging melody. The androgynous vocal command is complemented, at intervals, by a stern and sweet female element.

Unfortunately, Mika goes a little too far in his vocal exuberance during ‘My Interpretation’, whereby he strains a little too much and the instrumental razzmatazz doesn’t help to avoid the plummet into a pit of falseness. When things take a dip, all you need is an electro ladder and a bit of a WHAM spring, some labouring reflection and you are back into a cushy pop groove, ‘Love Today’.

It is not surprising that the centrepiece of the album, ‘Any Other World’ is pure theatrical in large Michael Crawford portions and is an earnest number that veers just the right side of sentimentality. Using an orchestral and choral element to change the pace and mood throughout. Also, it says to The Killers that the phrase; “Smile Like You Mean It” is for general use and can be used to better impact when it is meaningfully built up to.

The tongue-in-cheek lullaby style is used to devastating in the tale of a respectable man coming out of the closet, only to go back in and then yeah, come out again, ‘Billy Brown’. This is Mika’s most serious offering, lurking beneath a horn fuelled vibrant bounce. ‘Big Girl (you are beautiful)’, could have been picked up from the floor of a the Scissor Sisters’ rehearsal room and it oozes zap and spirit, as Mika’s elastic vocals are stretched in numerous directions to pull off a non-judgemental and inoffensive jaunt.

The latter band’s influence also seeps through in ‘Stuck In The Middle’. The early dip in form is well and truly left behind and, Mika is continuing to prove that we have a fresh and bold impresario ready to push the boundaries of pop music, hopefully out of the reach of any X Factor contestant.