Radio:Active - Louder and More Alive Than Ever Before

Upon searching Mibba’s articles to check if anyone else has reviewed McFly’s fourth studio album a month and a half after it's release through The Mail on Sunday, I find that not one entry for the English pop/rock band exists. Am I surprised by this? I am – but at the same time, I’m not. McFly, the band whose name is taken from the protagonist Marty McFly of the cult Back To The Future movie trilogy, do not necessarily appeal to the rock, metal or emo crowds (of which Mibba is mainly dominated, if I’m honest) - and I say necessarily because I am an avid McFly fan, whilst at the same time loving bands like Avenged Sevenfold and My Chemical Romance. The absence of their fan base here is totally understandable if you look at their first three albums, the influences for each sampling a mixture of 1960s surfer pop, tales of unrequited love, acoustic ballads and a general feeling of light-hearted, good time pop-rock.

But after taking a good listen to McFly’s recent album, typeset Radio:ACTIVE, I begin to think to myself – why isn’t there already a review for this on Mibba? Because as the opening track ‘Do Ya’ kicks in with its screeching guitar feedback and infective drumbeat, I find myself realising that as McFly are progressing, they’re becoming louder, rockier and all the better for it.

The opener of the free album - which was the first to be released on McFly’s own new self-created record label, Super Records - continues into a seemingly repetitive chorus, where the first part of many of the lines consists of ‘do ya, do ya, do ya’. I have to admit that at first I didn’t like this element of the song, but the catchiness of the whole thing outweighs that as you start to listen to it more and more. The band rightly said that this song is them "doing what we do best - ballsy pop." The song also explicitly displays the two vocalists’ singing talents – more so of Tom Fletcher, whose near-falsetto bridge in this song made me stop what I was doing and listen with a smile.

The album then delves straight into a more mellow, laid-back track, ‘Falling in Love’. It opens with an acoustic guitar but then wastes no time in introducing it's electric brother with soft drums and bass. This time it is Bolton-born Danny Jones’ voice that greets us, singing a seemingly happy tune but with a wistful tone to is lyrics. Most McFly fans will tell you that their songs often have a similar theme to the one I just described, and this one is just purely classic McFly with a more mature twist. The same can be said about track three, ‘Everybody Knows’ – another one of those tunes that you can sing along to easily with it’s catchy verses and repeating chorus. This track is also an example of McFly’s growing rock influence, with heavy guitars blasting out a captivating sound. However, it’s the next track that really catches my attention and makes me grin – ironically, a song named ‘Smile’. It’s basically an all positive anthem that starts with finger-clicking to keep the beat and backing vocals reminiscent of their debut, Room on the Third Floor, keeping the 60s vibe alive before once again hammering your eardrums with the now-familiar guitar sound, joined by a pleasant mix of brass instruments to really add body to the song. The lyrics can appear cheesy out of context – take “so put away that frown” and “c’mon and show us your teeth, and what you’ve got underneath” for example – but when layered over the impressive instrument collaboration, it’s nothing short of sweet and infectious, making you want to take the song’s advice and smile.

The second half of the album delves into darker territory, much like some of the material from 2005’s Wonderland. But before we reach heartfelt, almost emo-sounding power-ballad ‘POV’, we have the second single from the album, ‘One for the Radio’. After hearing Fletcher belt out the opening line with a single resounding chord as his only musical accompaniment, it’s clear why McFly chose this to be the song released to notify people about the album. If none of the previous four songs stand out to you, this big middle finger to all the haters and labellers out there certainly will. 22-year-old Fletcher said about the song: "Since McFly started we have had to constantly defend ourselves, trying to convince people that we write our own songs and play our instruments. Finally people know we can play, people know we write and people know the songs are great, so I think haters are running out of reasons not to like us. That is what this song is about."

From more of McFly’s stunning end-of-relationship inspired lyrics, belonging to ‘POV,’ we go straight into ‘Corrupted’. This song has a generally different sound to it, slightly more creepy and mysterious than other tracks with the verses being half whispered. This time we have Jones’ high-pitched notes gracing our ears, with Fletcher on the verses and a rare vocal contribution from bassist Dougie Poynter, which I’m guessing will only be really noticeable to big McFly fans as it took me a few listens to distinguish his voice from Fletcher’s. The next song is the first single from Radio:ACTIVE, ballad ‘The Heart Never Lies’, which was released on October 22, 2007 as part of their greatest hits compilation. Track nine is one of the more forgettable songs, ‘Going Through the Motions’, but enjoyable all the same. It then makes way for the last song of the free version, fittingly named ‘The Last Song’. This starts out as a poetic, piano power-ballad goodbye, but then takes a twist and you find yourself nodding your head feverishly to the obviously fan-dedicated tune, with lyrics such as “I guess it’s time to take my curtain call, I’m dying to thank you all.” You can really hear the emotion in Fletcher’s voice as he sings “from the very bottom of [his] soul”, and as the piano makes a return at the finale of the song, you know that that this is one kick-ass way to end an album.

This ten-track edition, released on 20th July 2008, was said to be a treat from McFly for all their dedicated fans, and due to downloading the band will be making most of their money off this album from touring, depending on how many people buy the fourteen-track deluxe edition when it is released on CD on the 22 September, along with a bonus DVD. Listening to the effort, I’m certain most fans definitely find this much more than a treat and will be more than willing to invest in the deluxe edition which will feature a song sung by drummer Harry Judd, the only member who has not yet contributed vocally to McFly’s albums. It will also contain four extra songs including the third single, ‘Lies’ – which according to Fletcher is the darkest thing the band has ever done and differs from their songs about wanting girls they can’t seem to get. It seems highly unlikely that the boys of McFly will now face the problem of constantly being rejected by ladies as their earlier songs suggested; now that their fourth album is sure to propel them higher and higher up the recognition and acceptance ladder, I predict music fans everywhere will grow to like the new, stronger McFly – and maybe, rock fans won’t be ashamed to admit that they often find themselves humming ‘One for the Radio’ after they hear it on the airwaves.