Record Review: Mika – Life in Cartoon Motion

Beirut born, English raised Mika gave the finger to the record industry in the form of single “Grace Kelly”. No company would touch this flamboyant, classically trained pop sensation so he went ahead wrote this song, released it as a download and next thing you know it tops the UK chart for no less than five weeks.

So it was with great curiosity and anticipation that he released his debut record. Second track “Lollipop” has already reached the lower portions of the chart despite it being so sugary sweet it hurts my teeth. But all is not lost, after an acoustic guitar driven third track, Mika morphs into Robbie Williams and breaks out onto the dance floor with killer disco jaunts “Live Today” and the ultimate highlight “Relax”.

But then he dips into some odd territory with the next two tracks,“Billy Brown” a cabaret-like tale of a suburban man with a wife, some kids and a male lover (scandalous!) who must take off to Mexico to get his head…straight.

“Big Girl” continues with the un-PC tone with Mika singing big band style about girls with a lot of back. “You take your girl and multiply by four,” Mika coos about this rather large girl who eats nothing but pizzas and diet coke.

There’s no describing Mika really. The lead single sets a tone that is never followed up. Instead it’s as if each track was recorded by a different version of the same man. Though on paper it should never work, Mika’s brilliant personality is tight enough to shine over each of these tracks making the whole project work like some completely bizarre cartoon.