by Lara Roberts

Created on: November 26, 2009

What's the first thing that springs to mind when the average person thinks about McFly? Teenage girls screaming, a cute little boy band, maybe even Busted imitators. And the music? Perfectly-crafted guitar-pop that speaks of schoolyard crushes, parties and having fun.

If that's what you were expecting from McFly's fourth studio outing, you'd be sorely dissapointed. Radio:Active is a progression from it's more laid-back, cheerful predecessor (Motion in the Ocean, 2006), and in many ways, the boys have improved in leaps and bounds. The fact that the band lost their major record label and produced Radio:Active on their own is patent, and the album is much the better for it, a more honest McFly experience. Edgier, grittier and grander in scale than any of their prior fare, Radio:Active quite accurately chronicles the average life of the twenty-somethings that the band members are at heart.

The full version of the album weighs in at just over an hour long, if you include the acoustic performances of "Do Ya", "Falling in Love" and "POV" that are tagged onto the end. And as a matter of fact, those three songs are the perfect choices to, essentially, be on the album twice, as each one stands out as a song of particular merit.

"Do Ya" may be familiar to some as 2008's Children in Need official single. A simple song, yet one that weaves together different musical styles and techniques to create a unique effect. "Falling in Love", the fourth and final single from the album, is a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking snapshot of a love unfulfilled; "Out of our minds and out of time/Wishing I could be with you to share the view". And "POV" is certainly a highlight, if not the outright best song on the album - essentially a power ballad, based on a simple piano motif only to be joined together with growling guitar riffs, soaring violin and heart-wrenching vocals, the song is likely to stir some sort of emotion in any listener.

And that is the joy of Radio:Active. No matter your creed, colour or lifestyle, you are likely to engage with something in one of the songs, be it the uplifting message of loving yourself that insinuates itself in your brain through the lyrics of the irrepressably bouncy "Smile" or the haunting tale of a loss of innocence told through "Corrupted". Maybe you too deny the herd mentality of today's music scene, as the band do in "One for the Radio". The spitting fury of "Lies". The list is endless, and as is often said, music means something different to every individual.

Or, on the other hand, you could just enjoy the fact that McFly, as a whole, write good music. Many are quite happy to dismiss McFly as has-beens, something only the screaming teenagers of the early 2000s could love, "not cool enough". But those willing to give them a try could be pleasantly surprised with this latest outing - and things can only get better from here. The music world could be in for a shock, as Radio:Active takes a big step towards cementing McFly's place in the hallowed halls of music legend. They may not be the next Beatles, but they're sure as hell going to take a stab at the stars to see how high they can go, what stereotypes they can break.

And they'll probably do it.

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