MIKA CAPTURES ECLECTIC ATTITUDES TO LOVE IN LATEST RECORD ‘HYPERLOVE’
ALBUM REVIEW | MIKA – HYPERLOVE by Morgan Hermiston
MIKA provided the soundtrack for many of our lives with hits like ‘Grace Kelly‘, ‘Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)‘ and ‘Lollipop‘, and he’s back to do it all again. These tracks, among many others, are from his debut album “Life In Cartoon Motion“. Since that record was released nearly 20 years ago, MIKA has experimented exponentially with his craft, releasing a subsequent six studio albums, including “Hyperlove“, which is out now.
The Lebanese singer-songwriter has written affirmative and body positive tracks, alongside more raw, revealing renditions of his life. With this new record, it feels like a collective cohort of everything he’s released previously, but fine-tuned to fit his current style. “Hyperlove” is a merging of 15 tracks that offer something for everyone, whether you grew up with MIKA’s music or not.
A lot of “Hyperlove” is centred around bright, synth and bass heavy melodies, with some steadier songs sprinkled in. ‘Modern Times‘, ‘Spinning Out‘ and ‘Immortal Love‘ are divine depictions of this brighter, summery feel. These, among others like ‘Bells‘ and ‘Eleven‘ are instantly identifiable as MIKA. There’s 80s twists in songs like ‘Eleven‘ that provide a notion of nostalgia and familiarity, with hints to previous material moulded in too.
The opening and title-track is an introductory tune that acts almost as an interlude. Aside from this, there are three interludes, more than I’ve seen in most other albums. However, these add a form of commentary and something deeper to specific songs.
A couple of tracks dance between slower, steadier and more upbeat melodies. In ‘Excuses For Love‘, ‘All The Same‘, ‘Science Fiction Lover‘ and ‘Take Your Problems With You‘, there are methodical merges of these tempos, but each maintain their own vibrancy and impact.
Other tracks that stand out, for separate reasons, are ‘Dreams‘ and ‘Nicotine‘. ‘Dreams‘, similar to ‘Immortal Love‘, contains a combination of synth and bass that results in a very catchy and bright tune. It’s perfect for the upcoming summer months that so many long for. ‘Nicotine‘ is also catchy, but in a more simplistic way. Its minimalistic methodology is effective in resulting in a track that you’ll return to.
“Hyperlove” is an incredible record, and an impactful return to music for MIKA. It’s always admirable to witness what an artist of his calibre can do after releasing so many memorable melodies already. Like much of his past material, “Hyperlove” is an emotive experience, but engineered in a universally understandable way.
MIKA has announced numerous festival slots and launch shows already. In the UK, MIKA will be doing stripped back sets and a talk at numerous outshows. You can find remaining tickets here for the likes of Kingston, Liverpool and Birmingham. He also has a headline show at Glasgow’s Summer Nights Series on Wednesday 29th July, details can be found here. Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival has announced MIKA as a special guest this year too, with tickets on sale now.
