Is it a guilty pleasure to enjoy something so over the top? SWEET JESUS NO! Life In Cartoon Motion is an album that after I heard it, I bought it, and since then I've been thrusting it into the hands of anyone that wanted to listen to it. Mika, a small little British man, sings with a power packed falsetto voice behind bubbly brit-pop melodies that seem to echo a brand of over-the-top pop that only ceased its existence in the early 90's. Someone recently described Mika to me as part Freddy Mercury, part Prince, and Part George Michael. How could you not love that combination?
The album provides 12 tracks that range from deeply emotional ballads to disco-tech infused infernos. It is clear upon first listen that this album is just pop for pop's sake, which at its roots, is just a load of fun. In the explosive Third track Love Today you are floored with the amazing control of the little man's giant voice. And in the Mega-ballad Any Other World you can almost see the interpretive dance form in your mind as Mika sings, "I'd tried to live alone, but lonely is so lonely alone" amongst layers of strings and reverb action.
After listening to this through multiple times, it has found it's way into my daily rotation of music at work. And whenever it comes on, I laugh out loud, and love it.