Lets address my adorable little McFly scamps first. They are arguably the premiere boyband in Britain today. They have had two number ones of each of their three albums. They have yet to miss the top ten. They yearn to be seen as indie, yet create some of the most sparkling pop gems around. By all rights they should be huge. And they are. Yet, something is wrong. Their singles debut high and drop faster than the proverbial hot potato. Their albums do reasonable but not outstanding sales. In short, they are Britain's biggest niche act at the moment. Try as they might, they can't seem to broaden their audience. Which actually is a real shame. Because behind the dodgy Heat interviews, spotlight seeking G-A-Y appearances and indie live lounge covers, there is a talented young band at the peak of their game. New album, Motion In The Ocean, proves they have an ear for a catchy melody and an increasing maturity in some of their lyrics (while not abandoning their fun side). The singles Please, Please and Star Girl are prime examples of their collective pop genius, Friday Night is another rollicking almost rock track and of course the set includes their raucous cover of Don't Stop me Now. But it's and that are two stand out tracks, Bubblewrap and Sorry's Not Good Enough – the former a quite lovely, yearning ballad, the latter a stomping piano laden pop track screaming for chart domination. I will be most miffed if they aren't singles number three and four… One quibble – would it have killed them to put some Just My Luck tracks on there for British fans???
