Mika, master of the catchy pop hook, could be likened to Marmite in the way that you either love or hate his music. His debut album “Life In Cartoon Motion” featured some fantastic pop songs such as “Grace Kelly” and “Happy Ending”, however it also included songs which I felt took Cheesy Pop a tad too far, and became annoying very quickly such as “Lollipop”. So there’s my general outlook on Mika’s first album, but can “We Are Golden” compete with the likes of “Grace Kelly”?
No.
I have to admit, the first time I heard this song it was accompanied by the video, which definitely does not enhance the song in any way. The video features Mika parading around his bedroom, doing push-ups and jumping on his bed in his underwear – not appealing! That aside, my first impressions of the song are that Mika has done the impossible – the song is less catchy than his older stuff, yet somehow MORE annoying!
The song contains yet more random and inapropriate falsetto, and potentially the most annoying chorus of any song ever! Mika persistently whines “We are golden” over and over! Yet somehow the song does have a good dance rhythm. Frankly I think the song would be vastly improved if the vocal was removed entirely! (He does have a good voice, but it does not come across at all in this song!)
I must say, from Mika’s second album I was hoping for a slight move away from the incredibly cheesy “Kids TV theme” sound which so much of his last album was corrupted with. There is beauty hidden deep within (most of) his songs which I was hoping would become more obvious in this album. So I am disappointed, I know he is capable of crafting a genuinely brilliant song… but alas, this is not it.
Of course I’m sure “Hard-core” Mika fans will love it, but it’s just not for me. All those people who weren’t fond of the last album: this song is very unlikely to persuade you become a Mika fan. I can only hope that this song does not accurately portray the whole album and that there will be some genuinely well crafted songs on it.
2/5
“We Are Golden” is released on 7th September
Mika’s upcoming LP “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” is released on 21st September
I think it’s probably a grower…I saw him perform it live at the iTunes Festival last month (must get round to writing that up on my blog…) and I really enjoyed it. Although there were also glitter cannons on the go which is always exciting – maybe that’s what the song is lacking!!
Great review Nikki 🙂
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