Mika

If you thought Mika might do something shockingly different with his second album, you've got the wrong Boy. Originality is not Mika's objective -- and that is not intended as an insult. Rather, his aesthetic philosophy -- even more developed here -- is about putting his own brilliantly colored stamp on delicious, candy-coated quotations of other artists/styles that fly by at breakneck speeds. Life in cartoon motion, in other words. The primary difference here is that the palette of his pastiche has expanded to include shades of ABBA, Paul Simon and gothic fairy tales ("Toy Boy").

"Who gives a damn about the family you come from?/You'll give it up when you're young
and you want some," shrieks London glam-popper Mika in "We Are Golden," the lead track
on his second album. The song showcases Mika at his irrepressible best, pummeling home a
peculiarly British tale of teenage sexual and social-class neurosis with Andrew Lloyd
Webber crescendos and a full gospel choir. Mika's faith in the campy excess of F... More >