Album Review: The Origin Of Love by MIKA

By Preston Michelson '13

Paging through the album releases from yesterday, I chose to listen to MIKA's "The Origin of Love" because, well, the album cover looked neat. Man, was I glad I did. MIKA, Casablanca Records

Vacillating between jazzy pop vocals and styles reminiscent of the late Freddy Mercury, the British singer-songwriter known as MIKA impressed for the entire album (plus Spotify users like myself get a deluxe version with acoustic renditions as well--even better!). 

He was able to travel tactfully from beautifully harmonious choruses to Jason Mraz-like solo vocal performances, sometimes only in the matter of one track, which was the case with "Step With Me."

Not only is he vocally talented, but this album most definitely has some songs that make me get up and dance (if I was wont to do such a thing...). The aforementioned deluxe version contains a Benny Benassi-remix'd version of "Stardust," an exceedingly complementary addition. 

This album will have the ability to transcend both pop radio charts and less-than-mainstream music lovers' Zunes. 

Metacritic.com, which normalizes album reviews to a score out of 100, gave "The Origin of Love" a 66. I would consider this quite low, but I also bear in mind the differences in the perception of music. 

On top of being toe-tappingly good, "The Origin of Love" tackles some societal issues, as well. In "Popular Song" and "Emily," he brings up subjects such as adolescents' search for popularity and even the use of gay slurs. 

All in all, MIKA fully impressed in "The Origin of Love." Assuredly, I will be listening to more of his work in the coming days.

My final rating: 

Music is different, from listener to listener. Any review that I write is a recommendation or advice. Music taste differs. This is mine. Enjoy!