Cautionary Wife Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 GIGWISE ALBUMS: Mika - 'Life In Cartoon Motion' (Casablanca) Released 05/02/07 by Zoheir Beig on 11/01/2007 "Sure there’s a few coffee-table moments, but ‘Life In Cartoon Motion’ has enough verve to hurdle such moments with ease.." If there’s an unwritten rule in pop that every artists’ career begins an irreversible downward trajectory after playing Knebworth, then from the moment Robbie Williams walked off stage there after his third record-breaking night in 2003 record companies have been clamouring to find the “next†Robster, a pop star that can unite disparate musical factions into thinking he’s amazing. Everyone from ex-Blue elephant-lover Lee Ryan to Celebrity-flop Matt Willis has undeservedly earned this tag, overweight suits all over London forgetting that Robbie was a true one-off, his cheeky/arrogant and exceptionally charismatic persona the like of which has not been seen since. Well, until now. Because Mika is the pop star that the beleaguered mainstream has been waiting for, a Beck for the MySpace generation who will dominate 2007 like a particularly rampant giant chart-Godzilla. His back-story is worthy of star status in itself: Born in Beirut during the war (his father was once held hostage in a Kuwati embassy), before self-imposed exile took him to Paris and, eventually, London. It’s a dandy-like existence that has surely contributed to Mika’s restless, euphoric music. Anyone within spitting distance of a radio will no doubt have heard ‘Grace Kelly’. Its mix of falsetto, self-referencing and the grand aura of Queen at Live Aid is clearly bonkers, but like half of Robbie’s back catalogue, it’s a song that will sell a lot of copies whilst sticking a middle finger up at the idiocy of the industry itself (“Shall I bend over? / Shall I look older? / Just To Be Put On Your Shelf?â€Â). As with mostly everything else on the album, Mika sidesteps any accusations of ridiculousness by having a very acute sense of just what he can get away with. In short, he has star quality in spades. Elsewhere ‘Lollipop’ has the same child-like naivety as The Go! Team, the pianos on ‘Billy Brown’ will have those editors who spend their days making sad montages of children dying running for the phone, while ‘Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)’ is as wittingly frank as when J.C Chasez, who used to be in squeaky-clean N’Sync, came back with that song about how he wanted to have sex all day. ‘Happy Ending’ though is the album’s gem. A climatic splurge of gospel and strings, it’s like ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ stretched to the length of Russell Brand’s hair, and it will slay the charts if given a single release. Sure there’s a few coffee-table moments, but ‘Life In Cartoon Motion’ has enough verve to hurdle such moments with ease, dazzling us as it does with it’s cheek, arrogance and, yep, charisma. Bar a national disaster this album will unite the pop-heads, gays, fashionistas and Tesco-shoppers in the same way the Scissor Sisters debut did back in 2004. Pop album of the year, already. From: http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=26699 CW. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemmalee Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Wow that is a fabulous review! I can't wait to get my copy of the album! Roll on the 5th of Feb! (sorry, just loving these smilies) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatsMe Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Sure there’s a few coffee-table moments, but ‘Life In Cartoon Motion’ has enough verve to hurdle such moments with ease, dazzling us as it does with it’s cheek, arrogance and, yep, charisma. Bar a national disaster this album will unite the pop-heads, gays, fashionistas and Tesco-shoppers in the same way the Scissor Sisters debut did back in 2004. Pop album of the year, already. First of all, thanks for posting that link. Definitely a good read and while I don't agree with every single thing said, it's great to see that Mika is getting all the good coverage from the mags. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royalmadman007 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Damn, now there is a good review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDDIESDOUBLE Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 AWESOME review!!! , and well deserved for definate. Whats a "coffee table moment" ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guinchogirl Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 AWESOME review!!! , and well deserved for definate. Whats a "coffee table moment" ........ Good question...I think Zoheir means that there's a few not-so-popular songs but the album can carry them as a whole... that's a personal opinion. So far, no "coffee table moments" for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kata Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Damn, now there is a good review! bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Did I beat Nicole? Oh , it was Nicoles quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celesteee Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Mmh, that a good review I have never seen that before ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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