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MIKA Life In Cartoon - Australian Review


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MIKA Life In Cartoon

Motion

Universal Music

By ROBERT PENNEY

April 4, 2007 02:27 PM

 

Try as you may; it’s near impossible to sit through Life In Cartoon Motion without being reminded of the helium falsetto of Scissor Sisters’ frontman Jake Shears. Okay, admittedly the Sisters borrow heavily from Elton John, The Bee Gees and the like, but the musical influences of London-based, Lebanese-born Mika can often seem a little too obvious.

 

The 23-year-old seemingly wrote the kitsch, bass-driven Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) with Freddie Mercury in mind, even down to isolating his vocals during the intro, à la Fat Bottomed Girls. Although credited in the album insert, Relax (Take It Easy) bafflingly pinches the melody of Cutting Crew’s ’80s power ballad (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight only to wind back another 10 years to apply a fairly mediocre disco treatment.

 

Some moments can be a little trying as Mika applies exceedingly playful elements to ordinary melodies such as the sickly sweet Lollipop. Thankfully, this isn’t a major concern as the penmanship of the glitzy single, Grace Kelly, is far superior, as is the stomping piano number Billy Brown.

 

Life In Cartoon Motion may be a hook-laden debut which mostly radiates good-natured, campy fun, however, sooner or later the dreaded game of ‘spot the watered-down influences’ is bound to rear its ugly head.

 

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CW.

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Do you get a free baribie with the aussie copy :wink2:

 

Nope... but you do get a free set of steak knives. :naughty:

 

...I am sad because I would just not be able to go to that thing if Mika was playing there. :crybaby: If he had the time, I hope he would be able to perform his own concert somewhere else.

 

Aussie :insane:

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