Thought I should probably have something that I can post regularly, to get me to remember I actually have a blog. Every week or so, I'll just pick a band I love to talk about, be it the band themselves, a concert/album/song of theirs or how I came across them. This week, I've picked McFly. They're a British pop-rock band who first gained attention in 2004. Indeed, that's when I first heard of them. Actually, the first time I heard of them was when I saw them play as support to Busted in March of that year. And, oh, they were so young. I would've been 13 at the time, it was one of my first concerts (the first being Atomic Kitten) and both my sister and I were pretty huge fans of Busted. I think we spent the time before the start of the show reading the little leaflet about the two support acts. I was amazed to find that the youngest member of McFly was at that time only 3 years older than me, just 16. I hadn't really got into music at this point and I had this perception of bands as being in at least their 20s if not older. Weird, I know. But anyway, straying from the point here.
I was much more enamoured with McFly than my sister was. I got their debut album for my 14th birthday, defended them against my friends who said they were too much like Busted and generally maintained a love of them throughout my time at secondary school, even as I started delving into more alternative music. McFly for me have always been amazing, no matter how poppy or mainstream they may be. They have a rock edge that when they first started out wasn't really visible in the British charts, at least not to my 13 year old self.
So I held onto them and strangely enough, it's some of their tracks that have got me through when I've been feeling low. And I mean, really low. Unlike so many people I know, I didn't fall back on the alternative, angry or emo. I dived straight into Radio: ACTIVE, Room On The Third Floor and Motion In The Ocean. I saw no point in hiding in music full of negative emotion when I could lighten the mood with some good pop sensibility.
There's been a slow, but noticeable progression in McFly's music. From the pop-rock, slightly Beatles-inspired beginnings of Room On The Third Floor, they've headed further down the rock route, culminating in 2008's Radio: ACTIVE, my second favourite McFly album after ROOTF. I love that progression. It shows they've matured, along with their fans, who are probably mostly around my age. Radio: ACTIVE also had some great moments in which the band acknowledged their position as a radio, chart-friendly band and laughed in the face of all the haters. One For The Radio took the comments about them being poppy and meaningless and accepted it. Yes, they are a pop-rock band. Yes, they do make music that's enjoyed by what I commonly, derogatively term teeny-boppers. But to many, including me, their music has more meaning than a lot of the chart stuff.
Imagine my horror when I heard their first single from their upcoming 5th album. Party Girl took all that pop-rock goodness and, on first listen at least, threw it away. I hated it. It's all electro, synths and POP. Just pop. And with electro and synth stuff being so big in the charts recently, I couldn't help but think that one of my favourite bands had gone and jumped on the bandwagon. Any alternative, rock, metal band had done this, it'd be called selling-out, but you can't sell out if you've already sold out, right? That makes little sense, but I know what I mean. Try as I might, I can't get myself to like Party Girl. I've listened to it so many times and every time, my brain just tells me it's not McFly. If I say anything though, especially on sites where there are other fans, I get bashed. Why? Because all bands change. I know this, I've used it as an argument against haters before. I've seen other bands I love change over their careers. But there's change and there's jumping on the bandwagon because that's what'll sell. I wasn't impressed.
I was so relieved when I heard their next single, Shine A Light. I'd decided to check out their live stream from the video shoot for the song for some reason. And, dear god, was I happy. So, OK, it's still not quite the McFly I know and love, but it's better than Party Girl. Heaps better than Party Girl. It's Shine A Light, more than anything else, that has convinced me that I need the album when it comes out. Not want. NEED. Because my library is so full of alternative, rock, metal and all that jazz (but not jazz, oddly), that it's in need of a good pop boost. So, I'm waiting not-so-patiently for November 1st and the release of album number 5: Above The Noise and another dose of McFly scrumminess.
Assorted McFly links:
Official site
Myspace
YouTube
LastFM
Recommended Tracks (album):
5 Colours In Her Hair, Surfer Babe, That Girl, Not Alone (Room On The Third Floor)
Ultraviolet (Wonderland)
Transylvania, Silence Is A Scary Sound, Friday Night (Motion In The Ocean)
Down Goes Another One, Corrupted, Lies, One For The Radio (Radio: ACTIVE)
...is it painfully obvious I'm not so keen on Wonderland?
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