British singer Mika lives Life in Cartoon Motion

[Cautionary Wife]

THE DAILY CAMPUS

Forest Brooks, Staff Writer

Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Entertainment

 

For those of you who have been paying attention, I've been enamored lately with the recent wave of British talent coming though the States (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, etc).

 

Well, the newest artist I have to add to the list is London-based singer Mika.

 

Armed with a voice and grandiose style reminiscent of British pioneers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Elton John, the singer is out to give pop a swift kick in the ass.

 

His album "Life in Cartoon Motion" is packed full of catchy hooks with regal melodies. The result is an adventure in musicality, drawing from influences that range from disco to glam rock with a bit of new wave thrown in for good measure.

 

I began hearing a buzz on Mika a few months ago when his first single, "Grace Kelly," leaked.

 

The piano-driven tune, which sounds like Ziggy Stardust and Queen's love child, was enough to capture my attention.

 

He peppers the epic track with colorful lyrics that personify British wit.

 

His voice sounds flawless on this song; he gives enough power to let you know he has strong pipes and enough attitude to charismatically draw you in.

 

Another tune, "Lollipop," has to be one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard in my life. Starting sparsely with drums and piano the track builds into a musical frenzy with horns, crazy percussion, and singing children.

 

Warning: This song will inevitably get stuck in your head. You'll find yourself singing, "Sucking too hard on your lollipop/hey, love's gonna get you down."

 

It's all fun and trust me, there are worse songs to have stuck in your head. Try walking around with Grace Jones on mental repeat?not a good look, but I digress.

 

You may have heard his other single, "Love Today," in a recent Verizon commercial. From the thumping bassline to his searing falsetto, this track screams disco, which is great.

 

Somewhere along the way, disco unfairly got a bad name. Granted, it's not all good, but some really great songs came out of that genre. Mika takes it and filters out the cheese to give us about four minutes of booty-shaking bliss.

 

His song, "Relax, Take It Easy," borrows heavily from a new wave motif, utilizing a sample of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms."

 

It's very '80s, but it doesn't sound so old school that it sounds out of place in today's market. This is helped by yet another great hook.

 

His vocals sound great in this mode as well. You can tell he has a real understanding of his voice and knows what music best complements it.

 

Throughout this album, Mika finds a way to take on music pioneered in the '70s and give it a new twist.

 

Plus, he has fantastic pop sensibility; it's virtually impossible to listen to this album without getting at least three of the songs stuck in your head.

 

With his highly nuanced motifs and colorfully witty lyrics, "Life in Cartoon Motion" is the perfect way to describe this m?lange of musicality.

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CW.

[lollipopgirl92]

Thanks for posting!

[Ms.Mewissa<33]

i like this. thnxx!

[mandilambi]

Great review! Thanks for posting.

[italianfan]

thx for posting

[esperia75]

Great! I like it!!

I live in a cartoon motion, too

[Steph]

hey, what a change to the one from the other day we had here, this is a super review, I love this new 'M for lange of musicality.'

 

he cetainly is reviving pop back to where it should be...in our ears , bones and on the streets...to make everyone happy, united, to give all a sense of belonging once more,

 

it is a hard task and he will have a steep road ahead to march in this drum & base/ techno disorientated music scene but mika is headstrong and he is no fool, he will ponder on in spite of all the mixed 'marmite press coverage'

 

 

This was a fabby review and for all the bad review :

 

Mika said in one of many interview: 'music is about how it makes you feel, about jacking it into your system, creating a world and dealing with reality'

'it's pop music , there's no limlit'

 

if only people would listen to him they could look and learn, there would be less negativity about

[*Danique]

Thanks for posting! I love it!

[Mikamyloveexx]

yay for our boy! This is a great review-thanks for posting.

[RosieLou]

Yey, great review