Album Review: Mika – Origin Of Love
3 min read
Brit award winner and Grammy nominated pop prince Mika returns this month with his brand new record, Origin of Love. Providing the Grace Kelly hit maker with his third studio release, Origin of Love is everything we could expect from such an eccentric pop star like Mika.
With two studio records under his belt and raking in a number one (Grace Kelly) and Top 10 singles (Love Today, Big Girls (You Are Beautiful), We Are Golden) along the way, Mika is now stranger to chart success.
The title track opens the new record and offers us a catchy, up-tempo and slightly eighties glazed pop nugget. Its swaying chorus sets the mood for the new collection and we can’t help but love the closing vocal peaks that we heard so frequently on Mika’s international breakthrough debut, Life In Cartoon Motion.
Stardust is a pure gem on Origin of Love and boasts a club quality to it that pretty much guarantees a strong existence within the club circuit and screams for single release. Its up-tempo rhythm and energy make it a memorable addition to the album and Mika’s vocals resonate confidently here. For the track, Mika teamed up with Italian DJ and producer Benny Benassi, best known for his work with Madonna and Chris Brown.
Balladry shows face throughout the record making the album beautifully balanced with early inclusions Underwater and Kids, both adding some syrupy melodies to Origin of Love and proving to be a pair of the singers best ballads to date. The production on both numbers is what really stands out on these two songs with neither sounding overdone.
In the lead up to the release of Origin of Love Mika expanded his profile by working with a range of other musicians including none other than the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna. Working with the icon on one of the standout tracks from her recent MDNA release, Gang Bang, you can certainly hear that his experience has been incorporated into Origin of Love as this release displays a more intricate and matured Mika than previous albums. One of the tracks on the album to display that is Overrated, a power pop hit bursting with electro beats and groaning synth fillers which create a track that is both well-structured and memorable. The number also sees Mika at his most vocally vibrant.
Another highlight on the album would have to be Love You When I’m Drunk, a brutally honest declaration of a drunken man’s sexcapade. Though the lyrics take a serious stand on the song the melody transforms the song into a lighthearted affair.
Popular is another hilarious track on the album that sees Mika sharing vocal duties with a female vocalist and turning out witty lyrics like; “Standing on the field with your pretty pompons. Now you’re working at the movie selling popular corn” and intertwining what sounds like a sample from the musical Wicked.
Unusually Celebrate, the lead single for the record, has been given the closing honors. Ushering us out of the 13 track collection Celebrate Mika has enlisted the help of US superstar producer Pharrell Williams who provides the number with a catchy synthpop coating ending the tracklisting off with a pulsating disco vibe.
Though Mika’s second studio effort The Boy Who Knew Too Much failed to do as well as his debut it was still a Top 5 hit in the UK. Origin of Love however seems to fill in the blanks and have all of the components lacking in that sophomore release and may very well see Mika back on top of the international charts.
Origin of Love is the perfect comeback for Mika after a 3 year absence from studio album releases that is drenched in fun, energetic pop and a patchwork of liberal and inspiring lyrics.
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