MIKA - The Boy Who Knew Too Much (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

Pleasing Pop Parade

Jonathan Walters | 09/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pure fluffy pop from start to finish and I loved every minute of it. I considered rating this 4 stars because of the inevitable comparison to Life in Cartoon Motion. That comparison lowers things a little. The two albums have a very similar feel and any song from either album could easily fit on the other. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, especially if you like the upbeat feel Mika's music has, but I can't help feeling that I bought Life in Cartoon Motion a second time. However, I decided to rate it 5 stars on the merit of two songs: Good Gone Girl and One Foot Boy. The former is different enough to liven things up a bit, it almost has a little bit of a hip-hop feel to it. The latter is just plain fun. It seems like a depressing topic, a boy with one foot, but Mika makes a light upbeat tune out of it.

There was only one song on this album that I dislike (and I dislike it immensely): Toy Boy. It feels like, I dunno... polka-pop. That's as terrible as it sounds. Every other song easily reaches the standard set by his debut album and I doubt anyone who liked that will regret buying The Boy Who Knew Too Much. So, buy it! Love it!

As a note of interest, the song Blue Eyes was included which was originally released as part of the Songs for Sorrow EP. So, if you want the other songs from Songs for Sorrow as well, you might be better off just purchasing the other two singles (Lady Jane - a good song and Lonely Alcoholic - one of my favorites) as an mp3 download."

A Review of 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much'

Antoine D. Reid | Durham, NC United States | 09/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"'The Boy Who Knew Too Much' is Mika's second studio album. If you are wondering how this compares to his first release, this collection of songs is still very pop orientated with Mika's signature use of piano and drums and organic, free-style singing approaching. 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much' is very light; somehow Mika manages to make most of the songs very upbeat and optimistic with the exception of one or two. The production and writing quality of the lyrics are slightly improved over his debut album and on some songs, the instrumentals are remarkably well (at times more so than the lyrics).

The Good: Mika has improved as a song writer and producer. I was impressed more so with some of the musical instrument production more so than the lyrics simply because some of the songs are very complex and moving musically while the lyrics were a bit lacking and not as strong. Also, Mika did not stray too far from the style of his first release. In many ways this feels like a natural progression from the first album rather than something completely new and different. More tracks featured on this release came together better for me and felt more cohesive than in the previous release. Only up until the last two or three tracks did I feel he was going too far out into weird musical territory.

The Bad: None of the tracks are bad, but some felt weak. Mika shines on the upbeat, pure celebratory 'pop' tracks like "We Are Golden", "Blame It On the Girls" and "Good Gone Girl", while the slower tracks felt somewhat out of place with the rest of the album's vibe. While "Toy Boy" is quirky and tells a (somewhat) amusing story lyrically, it simply brings the album down because it feels very left field and distracting, taking away from the smooth flow of the album. "Dr. John" sounded like a cut from his first album, and that was okay but to me as a listener, it felt out of place among the other tracks.

In all, if you liked Mika's first release, you'll enjoy this one. It's pop, fun, dance-inducing with interesting lyrics and musical backing that really pulls you into the experience. There is a very old, Beatles/Queen vibe on a lot of tracks while some felt like they were re-imaginings of older songs ("Touches You" reminds me a lot of a pop-remaking of George Michael's "Father Figure"; "Good Girl Gone" features some harmonies similar to Frankie Valli's "Walk Like a Man"). Mika flirts with different past genres of music; a little hint of disco with a lot of 1980s woven through many tracks. It's fun, carefree, quality music. Only a few tracks are skip-worthy but otherwise it's a solid effort. Worth a listen.

Listen to These: "Blame It On the Girls", "Touches You", "One Foot Boy", "Rain""

Another cd of fun

Darren Gbole | USA | 09/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i fell in love with mika and his music when i first heard "grace kelly." loved his first album, life in cartoon motion (especially the song "love today"). i know that when an artist comes out with a smashing debut their second effort tends to pale in comparison. the new cd is basically the same sound and feel as mika's first cd. i love the sound and feel of the first cd...so i do like the sound/feel of the new cd. if you like cartoon you will like the boy (if you didn't like cartoon,you will not like the boy). i love his sound, but i was not expecting a duplicate cd. the songs on each cd can be traded with the songs of the other. it is a good cd. my favorite songs are: we are golden, touches you and one foot boy. i give the cd 5 stars because it is a good cd, it is fun music and mika is a great singer."

Just Plain Good Music

James Durtka | Montana, USA | 10/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered (and fell in love with) the first album (Life in Cartoon Motion) earlier this summer, so I was very excited when I found out there was going to be another one.

Mika is a unique and extremely energetic individual, and his songs are awe-inspiring. In my collection of music, I give most songs 2 or 3 stars; my tastes are widely varied, and there's little I actually dislike. Most artists, however, only have one or two songs that receives a full five-star rating in my mental rating system. Mika is one of the only artists that produces nearly all fours and fives. Nearly any song by Mika I will listen to repeatedly, though some more than others. I have yet to find any other musician (in modern or previous times) which compares - though I love Queen, and some of the other 70s and 80s pop/rock (I find very little of interest in the 90s or 00s), even Queen (which has some truly great songs) does not have the same density for me, in which a single album will contain five or six perfect five-star songs.

A lot of people dislike Mika, but don't form any opinions until you've actually heard it. If you're like me, you'll love some solid, good music. In spite of all the references people make to earlier musicians, Mika stands alone.

If you liked LICM, you will like this album. There is no analogue to Grace Kelly; nothing quite as wildly fantastic as that, I must admit. But there are multiple songs that are at least equal to Relax, Take It Easy (which in my opinion is the second strongest song in the album)- so if you loved LICM, you should love this one as well.

Good songs from LICM: Grace Kelly; Relax, Take It Easy; Love Today; Lollipop; Stuck In The Middle; Ring Ring (they're all good, but those are the best ones)

Good songs from TBWKTM: Blame It On The Girls; Rain; Dr. John; Good Gone Girl; Lover Boy; and of course We Are Golden (once again, they're all good - those are my favorites)"

It's hard not to like Mika.

K.T. May | New York | 09/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Funky, Brit-pop is back!

Mika returns with his new CD, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much", the much-anticipated follow-up to his successful "Life in Cartoon Motion" of 2007. Produced by Mika and Greg Wells, who has worked with Katy Perry and P!nk, this new collection is just as fun, candy-coated and laced with childlike innocence as its predecessor. However, moreso on this album than on the last, it is easy to discern Mika's sexuality, which he has spoken about with discretion in the past.

Below is a brief description and numerical rating of the tracks on this CD. You can also get the Special Edition for an additional $2.00, ($11.99), which includes some extra video footage.

Track 1: We Are Golden--(8)--a lively song to start off with--"we are not who you think we are, we are golden!" Mika's accent shines through on the chorus to this teenage rebellion song. Don't go by our famiies, don't go by the tragedies we've been through, we're young and we're alive!

Track 2: Blame it On the Girls--(6)--a song about someone who's down on life and has a generally crappy attitude but really has no reason to, since he has great looks and everything everyone else envies. He'll blame his misery on everyone else, so long as he doesn't have to take the blame himself.

Track 3: Rain--(8)--never has singing about being miserable been so catchy and sing-along encouraging. You'll be happy to sing about how much you hate when it rains.

Track 4: Dr. John--(7)--Beatles-esque rocker about trying to live life but feeling like you've failed your parents in the long run, so now you're enlisting the help of Dr. John to help you make sense of it all.

Track 5: I See You--(8)--a powerful piano ballad about being in love with someone but it being complicated in the sense that you can't let them know. If they fell for you too, though, how would you know? Neither of you can express it. So he'll just adore them from afar, no matter how painful that is. It is easy to imagine this song as a Broadway number.

Track 6: Blue Eyes--(9)--this fetching number has an almost reggae edge to it. Here, he is trying to cheer up a poor girl whose heart got broken so she's taking pills and wondering why she's not feeling any better. "What's the matter, matter, blue eyes, blue eyes?" You can almost imagine the girl sitting on the beach with Mika, smiling through her tears and giggling at him.

Track 7: Good Gone Girl--(9)--this is one fun song about a girl who used to be a good girl but has abandoned her dreams and now steps on and uses men before they can step on and use her.

Track 8: Touches You--(7)--jingly piano rock reminiscent of George Michael's style about wanting to be close to someone in any form that allows you to touch them.

Track 9: By the Time--(8)--Mika usually weaves miserable things into poppy and catchy songs to help you forget your worries. Here, he makes a beautiful ballad about missing a lost loved one. By the time he fell asleep, they were gone.

Track 10: One Foot Boy--(7)--catchy, foot-tapping tune about being done once and for all with a relationship. He won't stand being asked to change anymore--you love him for who he is or he's done! And he's done.

Track 11: Toy Boy--(10)--a touching, tender song that sounds like it was lifted from a puppet show but contains much deeper content. The young boy sleeps with his boy doll until his mom has a problem with it and supplements a Barbie doll. The boy doll though is left hurt by the event and hopes the boy will remember him and his love for him when he is older.

Track 12: Pick Up Off the Floor--(8)--a cute song to end the CD with, those boys are going to do what they're going to do so don't let it get you down. If he doesn't love you anymore, pick your heart up off the floor and move on.

Overall album rating: 8

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