Album review: McFly, Above the Noise

TWO years in the making, this fifth album from McFly is being pitched as the one which will reintroduce them as a pop band of a more grown-up variety.

Paying homage to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds during the opening End of the World is perhaps unexpected, but the song's otherwise smooth Minneapolis funk sheen sets the listener up well for the even more Prince-like (right down to the title) If U C Kate, the quasi-trance rhythms of Nowhere Left to Run, I Need a Woman's flatpack gospel and the MOR R&B balladry of the Taio Cruz-featuring Shine a Light.

Undoubtedly their best studio effort yet, but still aimed squarely at those who like their pop glossy and unchallenging.