New Album Review: Que ta tête fleurisse toujours by MIKA

MIKA’s new album, Que ta tête fleurisse toujours, was just released (December 1st, 2023)! The album is MIKA’s first fully French record, with a title inspired by a letter he received from his mother (who has since passed) and with song topics that are MIKA’s most personal to date.

Here’s a brief explanation of the album from MIKA:

You may be wondering why a US writer is reviewing a French album—or maybe not, if you have been following my writing for a while and understand how I roll. 🙂

The truth is, I’ve been excited about MIKA’s new album release for a while. As a newer fan, I’ve only gotten to experience his single releases thus far, and I have been missing the excitement of a new album since the release of A R I Z O N A’s album A R I Z O N A this past May.

As someone who is fascinated by foreign languages, I only find the all-French songs on MIKA’s album to be a little intimidating. I honestly find them interesting more than anything else, and I’ve even picked up a little French since I started listening to them.

Like I said, I am a MIKA fan, and a pretty fervent one at that—so my opinions may be a bit biased. With that in mind, I’m happy to report that Que ta tête fleurisse toujours is a bright, creative, and emotional album that is a perfect example of pop. The album also shows through the beauty of its songs that MIKA hasn’t lost a shred of his artistry by releasing a fully French record.

I’m going to review each song individually in this MIKA review and let you know—briefly—what I think of each track.

Rather than linking to each song, I’m including a few audio/lyric links and using MIKA’s recent TikTok track-by-tracks or song previews to illustrate the rest, because…well, I just love track-by-tracks. Because I’m a music nerd. Anyway, here goes!

I hope that readers who want to can translate this MIKA review into French. If you have trouble doing so, let me know and I will work with you to find a translation!

1. “Bougez”

This is an intense, dance-worthy track that makes the perfect intro for this unabashedly poppy album. Electronic dance music fans will love this!

2. “Jane Birkin”

"Jane Birkin" deals with feeling free to be yourself. It has fun dance vibes and is very bright, even if it still has an edge of wistful sadness to it. It reminds listeners that MIKA maintains his delicious happy-sad musical flavor regardless of the topic or genre he is tackling (French dance-pop, in this case).

3. “Sweetie banana”

The tropical vibes of this track are irresistible. I think I will keep coming back for this piece because I find it very fun and relaxing while still having dance beats I want to move to.

4. “Apocalypse calypso”

This is a dreamy and almost relaxing…track with a dark theme: resisting the end of the world through love.

5. “30 secondes”

What a gorgeously emotional track! I think MIKA is at his best when he lays all the dramatic, deep emotion out on the table. He certainly does so here.

6. “C’est la vie”

This is another example of MIKA’s brilliant ability to fuse happy and sad themes with ease, which I personally believe he accomplishes even more successfully in French.

7. “Moi, Andy et Paris”

This isn’t my favorite track on the album, but I appreciate how honest and candid MIKA is here. I also like the tongue-in-cheek wittiness of the lyrics and production, which I’ve missed in some of MIKA’s other recent releases. It’s very chill at the same time, which is interesting given the subject matter which MIKA discusses in the TikTok video above.

8. “Je sais que je t’aime”

This song is very unique, and even hypnotic. It reminds me a bit of MIKA’s earlier French release “Les baisers perdus” and is equally beautiful. Somewhat like #7 above, it deals with the complex interplay of emotions that accompany love.

9. “Doucement”

This is a slick, very cool track that has an uplifting message, like many of the songs on QTTFT. I will keep returning to this track, much like “Sweetie banana,” because it makes me feel uplifted and, once again, like I want to dance.

10. “Touche Touche”

This dance-fueled piece is one of the best pop tracks I’ve heard in a while. I get a smile on my face every time I hear it. It’s my favorite on the album, and I hope you listen to it if it’s the only song you sample from the album. It just makes me so happy!

11. “Amour pirate”

I think this song has a very sweet and hopeful theme. I appreciate that MIKA went in a different direction that almost reminds me of the theme in Jack Savoretti’s “Love Of Your Life.” It’s equally as beautiful, if a bit less grand and more tender.

12. “Passager”

While I can’t really relate to the themes of this song, I love the stripped-down sound it has compared to some of the other tracks on the album. The guitars in particular are so soulful and unique for MIKA. It’s a nice track for moments of quiet reflection, and might be extra-special for the vagabond listeners out there. Once again, there is a calming element here that I will want to return to.

Overall, I love this delicate and gorgeous album, even more than I thought I would. I like a change in sound and/or style from my favorite artists, so appreciate that MIKA did something different, fun, and even emotionally charged here with a dose of gentleness and uplifting beats that I haven’t heard from MIKA before, at least not in this way. If you love pop music, MIKA, or French songs, give Que ta tête fleurisse toujours a listen!

You can order the album and other merch online!

-Lindsey Flagg