Album review: Mika: the Boy Who Blew-er, Knew-Too Much

I have to say, I don’t agree with those people who have said the new Mika album isn’t as immediate as his last one.  Some of the songs are incredibly accessible, while others take some time to appreciate, but as a whole, I liked this album from first listen.  Here is a track-by-track review, from Best to Worst

1. One Foot Boy – less immediate than many of the other tracks, with a few listens this has become my favorite Mika song, ever (although Happy Ending comes close).  The production and vocals on this track, more subtle than most of the album, just work perfectly.  Mika sounds slightly aloof and disconnected as he sings the verses, with the undertones of sadness and heartbreak only bursting out in the chorus.  It’s the perfect song for the often cyclical, drawn out process of getting over someone, and finishes perfectly “I’m happy on my own…”

10/10 and instantly in the running for my Song of the Year

2. Blame it On the Girls – Starts with a brilliant spoken intro, which gains it an extra point right away, and a brilliant opening lyric (“He’s got looks that books take pages to tell…”), another point, the second single from the album contains all of the best parts of a good Mika song: sing-along chorus, silly but poignant lyrics (that, like One Foot Boy, more than hint at Mika’s sexuality), and clapping bits.  As everyone knows, clapping makes ANY song better.  Somewhat similar to We Are Golden, except doesn’t go overboard in all the ways that WAG does…

9/10

3.  Rain / I See You – I can’t decide which of these two very different songs is better.  Both sad, Rain goes over the top, while I See You takes the classy route.  Rain wins points for building gradually into an immense chorus.  I See You instantly struck me as the brother to Happy Ending with its lush, building orchestration, clapping, and the multi-layered vocals at the end.  It’s not nearly as good as Happy Ending, due to a weaker chorus and the simple fact that almost no songs can hope to be as good as Happy Ending, but still very good indeed.   

8/10 (now that I think about it, I See You is probably more of an 8.7ish whereas Rain is down in the 7.9’s)

4. We are Golden – This one’s been around a while.  In short: an over the top, somewhat weaker first single that almost makes up in enthusiasm for what it lacks in any amount of subtlety.   I was pretty down on this track and how it boded for this album until I 1) heard the great Calvin Harris remix and 2) heard the original played at top volume over a massive speaker system.  It’s a ridiculous, overblown, Frankenstein monster of a track, but it’s a lot of fun.

7/10

5. Blue Eyes – Mika does soulful reggae-lite.  Rather well, apparently.  He’s good when he calms (the falsetto) down a bit.

7/10

6. Good Gone Girl – Pros: bouncy, fun music, silly sing-along lyrics.  Feels quite similar to Blame it On the Girls, We are Golden.  Cons:  not as good as either of those.

7/10

7. Touches You – File this one under “over the top, but still pretty good (see: We are Golden)”

6.9/10

8. By the Time – It’s pretty.  And sleep inducing.  Could have been done just as well by any one of a number of female singer-songwriters…  And just not that exciting.  

6/10

9. Pick Up Off the Floor – See 9, but substitute James Blunt for female singer-songwriters.   Note: these are not actually bad songs, just rather bland, like the kind of music you’d listen to you if you were going to fall asleep or stare out a window at the rain or write bad poetry, etc.
6/10

In order of increasing awfulness:  Dr. John, Lover Boy, Toy Boy – Mika descends ever further into gimmickry, without the fun or emotional depth of his better songs.

6/10, 5/10, 3/10

Overall - it's a good album, I'd argue better than his first.  More coherent, genuine, and dance able, with less gimmickry.  There is only one song I actively dislike (Toy Boy... what were we thinking there, Mika?)

8/10