Mika, or Michael Holbrook Penniman, does not need to litter his pop songs with synthesisers and repetitive back-up "yeahs" because his voice is bright and irresistible enough on its
own.
Instead, the Londoner known for his quirky clothes, big hair and multi-octave vocal range, pulls gospel choirs and orchestras into his tracks.
That's his classical music training coming into play. Each melodic layer is laden with emotion and resembles either an Elton John epic or a big-bang production theme-song with happy young dancers and red velvet curtains.
Mika's 2007 album
Life in Cartoon Motion
was inspired by his unusual childhood which took him from Lebanon, to Paris to Britain. His piano-pop hits
Grace Kelly
and
Love Today
, were blasted from top of the pop playlists. And even if they did fall subject to overkill there was no denying the zany guy was talented.
In
The Boy Who Knew Too Much
23-year-old Mika sings about his awkward transition from adolescence to 20-dom.
This album kicks off being more experimental but after six tracks Mika reverts back to something we heard two years ago. The first half of the album throws together a mix of electro in the single
Rain
, calypso-carnival fun in
Blue Eyes
and a children's choir in the single
We Are Golden.
The only threat to these catchy numbers is that they will be as thrashed as
Grace Kelly
was, to the point where certain purists evacuated whenever it was played.
Mika's successful singles are like deliciously rich cupcakes with pink icing and silver balls - excess consumption can have a negative effect.
But as if to ensure
The Boy Who Knew Too Much
is not immediately classified a "thrash hit" Mika throws in a lullaby,
I See You
.
In this, the longest track on the album, he shows that he is more than just a crazily-dressed happy guy who likes to sing and dance. It is sensitive, but sounds incongruous when plonked in the middle of the otherwise effervescent album. Perhaps it is a sign of things to come.
Jacqueline Smith
