Grade: B
Compare the cover art of Mika’s 2007 debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, with the pop virtuoso’s sophomore effort, The Boy Who Knew Too Much. If you can tolerate one coloring book brain burst, you’ll probably dig two. Same applies to the music within.
For those unfamiliar with Mika’s coming-out album, your enjoyment of The Boy Who Knew Too Much will depend not on how long, but how high you’re willing to listen. Beginning with the words “Teenage dreams in a teenage circus,” Mika sticks to falsetto — thematically and vocally — for all 13 tracks.
Lead single “We Are Golden” never surpasses its title, an earnest identification for the gays and girls craving a more wholesome (but still fabulous) counterpart to Lady Gaga’s glitter. Another anthem, “Touches You,” stands loud and proud amid the chaos: “I want to be your brother/Want to be your father too/Never make you run for cover/Even if they want us to.”
In every permutation, Mika addresses boys, girls and love. His shrieks instantly bring to mind singers such as Prince and Freddie Mercury. Lebanese, American, French, British and the student of a Russian opera singer, Mika poses as a serious contender for the queer throne once ruled by goblin king David Bowie, Queen and Sir Elton John.
Flirtations with different genres produce mixed results. Calypso (“Blue Eyes”) suits Mika well. The music box, Disney trills of “Toy Boy,” (treading the same ground as the Dresden Dolls’ “Coin-Operated Boy”) errs toward too cutesy. On one of the album’s standout tracks, “By the Time,” Mika out-dreams his collaborator, sandwoman Imogen Heap.
Elsewhere, Mika plays it safe. He smartly trusts his expert pipes and layered arrangements to dazzle Cartoon Motion fans all over again. “Rain” replicates the gloomy, pulsing electro-lite of “Relax, Take it Easy.” On the other hand, an old-timey intro to “Blame it on the Girls” doesn’t stick like that final “Ka-ching!” of “Grace Kelly.”
Not a boy, not yet a man, Mika frequently mentions mom and dad, and his chirpy highs and melodramatic lows prevent anyone from taking him seriously. The Boy Who Knew Too Much offers every type of sugar a kid could want. After the rush, though, it’s just hunger and headache.