Album Review: Mika – Hyperlove
2 min read
A man of many talents, Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr, aka Mika, has been shining in the world of entertainment for nearly twenty years now, and shows no sign of changing that any time soon. His massive debut album Life In Cartoon Motion has lead to multiple charting releases, number one records in Europe, and roles as a TV personality on shows like The X-Factor and The Eurovision Song Contest. Now, after a few years away from music, Mika has returned with his seventh studio album Hyperlove, his highest charting album since 2009.
The title track opens the album with a dreamlike synth and gorgeous piano, Mika’s voice soaring overhead with his usual power. Its low-key sound feels like a true introduction, leading gently into single Modern Times and given that song’s pounding beat even more weight. The mix of pulsating synths and piano passages are a definite motif across the whole record, Spinning Out especially with its key stabs and disco drums highlighting this. Excuses For Love has an indie rock tint with palm-muted guitars, its lamenting chorus melody feeling both dreamy and melancholic. Dreams has a similar atheistic, with a chord progression reminiscent of a grunge tune and a vocal delivery that’s etherial and relaxed.
The interludes harken back to Mika’s debut, spoken word passages backed by rumbling dance beats that give the album a landscape. They also seem to split the tracks into realities parts, the sound before Interlude Everything’s Beautiful being dance-based rhythmically while the songs after Interlude Please Take Your Problems With You sit somewhere more in the region of synth pop. Nicotine’s airy acoustic guitar and melodically layered chorus feel radio-ready, while Bells rings with joy and youthful freedom. After the final interlude comes Immortal Love, a tune that returns to the non-stop beats of the initial tracks and ends the record on an up-tempo note.
Mika has never released a bad record, but Hyperlove feels elevated conceptually in a way his albums never have before. Split sections, intentional genre twists, and great pop songwriting throughout, it’s an album to sink your teeth into, and an energetic release from someone two decades into their career. Stick it on and dance around the room.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
