The 10 Best Singles By... Mcfly

In honor of Dougie being crowned "King of the Jungle" in this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here (a deserved win, I might add), I thought I'd give his band Mcfly the Top Ten treatment. Over the years, I'm continually surprised at how much I like this band.

10. Obviously (2004) - A sweet, midtempo single that established them as more than a one-hit wonder. Relentlessly singalong.

9. I'll Be Ok (2005) - One of their best straight-ahead rockers. They draw from classic melody here, which gives the song a timeless quality.

8. Please Please (2006) - One of my favorite videos of theirs, and the first track on the countdown from their excellent 2006 album, Motion in the Ocean.

7. All About You (2005) - Not their first ballad, but definitely their first massive one. The Beatles-esque melody is still so refreshing, especially from such a young band.

6. The Heart Never Lies (2007) - The band at their most mainstream and mature. It's like a mix of Robbie Williams and Snow Patrol. Shouldn't have worked, but it does.

5. 5 Colours In Her Hair (2004) - Still a burst of energy after all these years. The band debuted with this huge surf-inspired retro rocker. So catchy.

4. Sorry's Not Good Enough (2006) - Piano driven, with epic Queen-like guitars, this single showed a new side to the band. More elaborate and melodic than almost anything else they've released.

3. Friday Night (2006) - An often overlooked single from the soundtrack to a horrible movie. But the song itself is the best rock track the band have produced, a Def Leppard frenzy of power riffs and layered vocals.

2. Transylvania (2007) - Their most interesting and unique single, it's almost like a mini-rock opera. Dougie proved why he should take lead vocals more often, and the band is really operating at their creative peak.

1. Shine A Light (with Taio Cruz) (2010) - Sometimes simplicity is all you need. This song just worked from the very first listen. One of my favorites from last year, and definitely one of the best mainstream pop releases of the last few years.

So there you go! But here's the thing, no list is complete without hearing what you think! Leave your top ten Mcfly songs in the comments!

Top 50 Singles of 2010: 10-6

10. Darin - Lovekiller



The top ten kicks off with the biggest, cheesiest pop moment of 2010. There is no resisting the overblown goodness of this track. Darin hit it out of the park with this one. The video’s wonderfully over-the-top, too.

9. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers



The comeback single she’s been searching for for years. It was so magical that it overshadowed everything else on the album. Her biggest late-career highlight.

8. Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire



A soaring festival anthem that deserved more success than it found. Jake sounds his best on tracks like this. No band does melodic, radio pop better than Scissor Sisters.

7. Mcfly & Taio Cruz - Shine A Light



I never expected that, this late in their career, Mcfly could pull off a pop track like this. It hits you from the first listen and cements itself in your memory. The I Gotta Feeling of 2010.

6. Short Stack - Planets



On first listen, I didn’t think this was anything special. Then I came back to it… and back… and back. And I’m still listening to it constantly months later. Everything came together here.

Top 20 Albums of 2010: 16-15

16. Mcfly - Above The Noise



Five albums in, these guys opted for a more current, dance-influenced sound. It resulted in their best album since 2006’s Motion In The Ocean. Really, you could graft any current trend or genre onto their music and it would still be a pleasant listen because they’re great pop songwriters. Unlike so many bands their age (and style), they know their way around a hook. Like many of the albums in the lower half of my countdown, this is completely driven by the singles and soon-to-be-singles, but even the filler is pretty consistent.

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15. The Ark - In Full Regalia



What to say about the soon-to-be-departed Ark? They are my favorite band of all time, which makes it very difficult to place this album all the way down at number fifteen. Unfortunately, though, this is easily the Ark’s worst effort (reflected in sales and radio success as well). I’ll support them in whatever they do because they’ve given us some of the best music ever recorded. This, though, almost sounds like a different band completely. Gone is the bombast in favor of dull 70's rock. I tried to love it and couldn't get past a casual "like." But they’re the Ark. And even the Ark at its worst is better than a lot of stuff out there. (and hey, the Delays--another personal fave--didn’t even make it on this countdown!)

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Track-by-Track: Mcfly - Above The Noise

I'm not sure I've ever given Mcfly the respect they deserve. They've never released a bad album and have one of my favorites from the last decade in 2006's Motion In The Ocean. Still, I doubted their recent shift in sound before I had even heard it. And I was wrong. It's the second best album of their career. (And that's saying something, since most bands burn out by the time they get to the fifth release)

1. End Of The World - Opens the album with the computer/techno conceit before segueing into an aggressive, electro-rock anthem. While it's not my favorite track, it's a fitting introduction to the new sound with some great guitar work towards the end. 8/10

2. Party Girl - I initially wrote this off as a bandwagon-jumping clone of Gaga-esque rock, but it's grown on me considerable. It's the beat... totally massive. 10/10

3. If U C Kate - A midtempo, funky pop track that blends their old sound with their new in such an effective way. The gimmicky title sells this song short. It's such a bundle of hooks, yet still manages subtlety with a timeless appeal. 10/10

4. Shine A Light - This is the album's classic. The version here doesn't feature Taio Cruz (I actually like the one with Taio better), but it's still an absolute highlight in their career. Like all the best songs, it's incredibly simple. You will not find a better song to represent the 2010 pop trend than this. 10/10

5. I'll Be Your Man - I don't really think of Mcfly as a boyband, but this is definitely their big boyband ballad. It's cheesy and to the point, but utterly successful. This could have been an enormous Nsync/Backstreet Boys/etc hit back when they were big. This should be the next single. 9/10

6. Nowhere To Run - This brings back the huge, electro-inspired sound of tracks like Party Girl. It starts out with some restrained strumming before transforming into a dancefloor monster. Very smart move. 9/10

7. I Need A Woman - And now we've got a slower, Motown-inspired sound. I should hate this, but the melody wins me over. It's amazing how much their songwriting has grown. The chorus is a total cathartic release. Wonderful vocals. 9/10

8. That's The Truth - A string section opens the song, which quickly turns into something a little more straightforward. It's a middle-of-the-road type pop song. Very pleasant with a great chorus, but not one of the more memorable tracks. 7/10

9. Take Me There - Now we're back to something a little more anthemic. This song's in a constant state of building up to something. That's a good thing because the building up is the fun part. The production on this is stunning, especially the guitars. Pretty epic. 10/10

10. This Song - Probably my least favorite song on the album. The melody's pleasant enough, but the lyrics feel a little simplistic and juvenile. That being said, it's still not something I'd skip. 7/10

11. Foolish - More strings open this one -- a build-up that doesn't completely pay off. I love the melody in the verses but wanted more from the chorus. 7/10

Album Grade: 8.7/10

Mcfly - If U C Kate

"Everywhere she went, Kate drew a crowd"

I'm really enjoying Mcfly's new album (and I'll have a track-by-track tomorrow to tell you what exactly I'm enjoying about it). They're the kind of young band that, upon bursting onto the scene seven years ago, were easy to dismiss as a flash in the pan. Yet they've managed to stay relevant for almost a decade now (that's a lifetime in popstar years). It's down to likable personalities and a real gift for a great pop melody. Best of all, they're maturing with the times. Their new sound is a real progression, even though it seemed like a Gaga-bandwagon-jumping stage at the outset. Thankfully, the overall shift is more subtle and less trendy. This is especially apparent in songs like If U C Kate, the funkiest track the foursome have ever recorded. The synth after the chorus (and at the very beginning of the song) is just irresistible. I'm not sure if, as a whole, the album quite lives up to Motion In The Ocean (their pinnacle, in my opinion), but it's a very pleasant surprise.

Mcfly - If U C Kate by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Mcfly & Taio Cruz - Shine A Light

"She left me with a broken heart"

I have been obsessed with this track for weeks now. There have been a few UK pop groups this past decade that could've been terrible but ended up defining the era. I've always considered Mcfly to be the male example of this (Girls Aloud being the female). It's amazing that they're still producing singles of this quality so far into their career. Mcfly tracks have a history of debuting high on the charts and plummeting a week later, which hints at the limitations of their loyal fanbase. This song, a duet with the ever-reliable Taio Cruz, has the potential to cross over if given the chance. It's easily their best single in years and a real standout of the 2010 pop sound. The Taio/Mcfly partnership was not what anyone would have expected, and could have been horrible, but it works wonders. There's just enough of each artist's sound smashed into this song to create an insanely catchy, anthemic pop/rock hybrid. I'm officially excited for the album now.

Mcfly & Taio Cruz - Shine A Light by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Pop Blitz 7/16/10

Fefe Dobson - Ghost This sounds A LOT like the Veronicas and not much at all like Dobson's older stuff. It's more synth-heavy. I just wish it was a little less forgettable. Still think she's a dynamic performer, though. B-

McFly - Party Girl
Or, "McFly goes Gaga." They get points for trying something completely different, but they should have bypassed current trends (could this sound more '09-10?) and gone for a more classic dance sound. But it's somewhat promising. B

Swedish House Mafia (ft. Pharrell) - One
Great beat, massive sound, but will it be remembered this time next year? Doubt it. Though as far as club/dance songs go, I like this a lot more than I would have thought. B+

Usher - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love Again
As much as I hate to admit it, I was totally won over by OMG (though it took me two months). This just sounds like Taio Cruz. It's a good thing, and a step up from the usual Usher single, but I see it getting irritating fast. Then again, maybe it'll win me over, too. B-

JLS - The Club Is Alive
Wow, I actually dislike this quite a bit. It's so unimaginative and ticks all the current musical trends in the most boring way possible. I liked some of their earlier songs, but this is nearly unbearable. So dull. D+

Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak AmericanoThese novelty European dance hits just keep getting stranger and stranger. But even though I'm not a fan of the old-timey samples over modern beats thing, this is a better example of the genre than most. B

Professor Green (ft. Lily Allen) - Just Be Good To Green
Even Lily can't save this one. I really hate this Professor Green character. He's got one of the most irritating voices on pop radio. This is something I'd actively avoid, and if it wasn't for the Lily parts it would be an easy F. As it is, it's a solid D