Mika - Rain

"Baby, I hate days like this"

I'm still sorta working out my thoughts on Mika's new album. I'd say a solid three quarters of it is pretty darn good (and I'm one of the We Are Golden fans), but the end gets a bit ballad-heavy and some tracks suffer from that annoying cutesy, precocious theatricality that's always been Mika's greatest flaw in my eyes. When he gets it right, though, he gets it right. Rain is one of his most stunning songs, and it would be a shame if it didn't get a single release. A throbbing, Stuart Price-produced dance track, it builds and builds until erupting with a fantastic chorus that uses Mika's falsetto to its best possible effect. It pretty much outshines everything else on the album, which at times sounds more like a collection of b-sides than a confident return. Still, I'd settle for Mika b-sides any day

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter at nickajames)