kerching!

Fresh from the love-it-or-hate-it "Grace Kelly" spending three weeks at the top of the singles chart, Mika's debut album "Life In Cartoon Motion" skips merrily into the shops this week.

Cutting to the chase, it is like being buried alive under a mountain of chocolate buttons and marshmallows. Clearly there is nothing wrong with that (unless you died, I suppose) but it's probably a good thing that the album comes in at forty-five minutes otherwise there is a serious chance you'd explode with gaiety.

On first listen, it's like the aural equivalent of a rainbow. Or monosodium glutamate. Tuneful, brash and utterly unpretentious, Mika falsettos his way in a Scissor Sisters style through a series of short, snappy pop records. Any of them could be a single, and at least two of them sound like you've heard them before. He nods to Cutting Crew's "I Just Died In Your Arms" on "Relax (Take It Easy)" and the excellent "My Interpretation" sounds like the perfect theme tune for a Channel 4 Sunday morning teen drama. If they ever remake "Dawsons Creek", this is the song.

It's not all froth, though. "Billy Brown" tells the tale of a husband who falls in love with another man (to some odd brass backing). "Lollipop" is the S Club answer to Kelis' "Milkshake" ("....sucking too hard on your lollipop, love's going to let you down...") and "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" is a homage to the curvier ladies. The Freddie Mercury comparisons here are obvious but I can't really see it.

I really, really like this album. Don't get me wrong - some people will listen to it and absolutely hate it. His frothy lyrics and shrieky affected vocals will get on some people's nerves. Big time. However, if you like immersing yourself in pure chirpy pop, can tolerate the derivative guitar/piano sound of the Feeling and the Scissor Sisters and like dancing whilst vaccuuming, this is for you. Just make an appointment with your dentist as this record is so sweet it'll give you tooth decay.