From his album art to his music videos, Mika’s colorful world looks like a Skittles commercial gone wild. Hyperactive rainbows assault the senses from all directions, including Mika’s over-the-top cute vocals, choirs of children and slick beats that would be just as at home backing Sean Kingston or Lady Gaga.
The follow-up to 2007’s surprisingly Grammy-nominated Life in Cartoon Motion, The Boy Who Knew Too Much is comparatively more focused, although it does feature seemingly ADD addled flirtations with island rhythms and Broadway rave-ups before returning to the comfortable confines of disco-pop, which, although fun, are ultimately as disposable as the genre they derive from.
Mika’s theatrical falsetto and penchant for endlessly layered vocals guarantee comparisons to Freddie Mercury and Bee Gees, or at least Adam Lambert (although, in truth, Mika’s cartoonish numbers might be too sweet for fans of Lambert’s slightly edgier musical persona). Perhaps the biggest problem with Mika is his desire to use every trick he knows on every single song; it’s exhausting after a while.
Regardless of the genre, cuteness is the overwhelming theme of the Boy Who Knew Too Much. Everything sparkles with the over-the-top enthusiasm of a toothpaste commercial even as Mika toys with cabaret-esque showtunes and experiments with never-quite-caught-on Feist-y singer/songwriter Imogen Heap on “By the Time.”
With a beat culled from the watered down world music notions of Paul Simon and Cindy Lauper, “Blue Eyes” might unexpectedly win favor with Vampire Weekend fans. (Whether that’s an insult to Mika or Vampire Weekend is for you to decide.)
“Touches You” sounds like a sequel to George Michael’s “Father Figure,” vocally, musically and lyrically.
Like the candy colors that seem to inform his world view, Mika’s music is good for a quick sugar rush on some sunny afternoon but will ultimately leave listeners empty, or perhaps simply ready for another sugary fix.
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