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McFly- 'The Heart Never Lies'

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Fraser McAlpine | 09:24 UK time, Sunday, 21 October 2007

McFlyAh, McFly. I love McFly, you probably love McFly, even people that purport to passionately hate McFly secretly quite like McFly, etc. etc. They're lovely boys, they've got a sense of humor and they're quite happy to wear ridiculous outfits, take off all their outfits, play a few jolly brilliant, witty and possibly slightly insane pop songs and rest in the assurance that they actually seem to really enjoy what they do. They're one of the most obvious stalwarts of British pop in the last four years and as such, I guess it is about time for a retrospective.

They've gone from being mini-Busted to a towering pop street team force in their own right and they've conquered the charts again and again, got through the difficult second album, coped with getting a third out, met Lindsay Lohan without going off the rails, etc. etc. etc. The achievements of McFly in the face of all adversity and general dismissal by everyone other than discerning pop connoisseurs and possibly the occasional excitable teenage girl are, in fact, staggering. Best of all, they haven't lost their cheeky sense of humor or their joy in doing what they do best ...right?

Greatest hits singles are, to my recollection - and with the obvious exception of 'Something Kinda Ooooh' - always a relatively subdued affair. Closing the book on the old, they mourn it and move on into ever more amazing territory (hopefully, anyway) and thus it is with 'The Heart Never Lies.'

It's not that it's a particularly bad song - it's a big balladic thing that doesn't particularly go anywhere, with some rather pedestrian but ultimately quite likeable lyrics, it's just that it doesn't really give a sense of McFly's previous output, does it? There's none of the catchiness of, say, 'Obviously' or the out-and-out bonkersness of 'Transylvania' or even some of the vague experimentation of 'Ultraviolet.' It's more the sort of dadrockish Sunday afternoon stuff you'd expect from, say, Embrace and even a hardened McFly fan like myself can't quite reconcile it with the previous (and presumably, future) work of the band.

Although they did take a more serious angle on 'Wonderland' and they've always been a band capable of playing straight, their best work is generally at their most self-conscious and poppiest so, for all the sentimentality of 'The Heart Never Lies,' it doesn't suit them and it seems awkward.

McFly are a good band and this isn't per se a bad song, it's just not a good McFly song, so although I'm sure it'll probably do fairly well, it's disappointing and I sincerely hope this is a rosy-tinted one-off and not a new direction for the band.

Three starsDownload: Out now
CD Released: October 22nd

(Hazel Robinson)

Comments

  1. At 07:32 PM on 24 Oct 2007, wrote:

    I've started liking McFly again.
    Is that weird?
    I even got the single yesterday.
    This sudden new change is scaring me :S
    Oh well.
    xx

  2. At 10:59 AM on 25 Oct 2007, Roxy wrote:

    Why do I get the feeling that McFly will be one of those bands that will go on and on and on and on and on and on and on.....OMG I hope it's not true!!

  3. At 12:15 PM on 25 Oct 2007, poppy wrote:

    doesnt this sound like a christmas song? it just reminds me of christmas...lol

  4. At 02:53 PM on 26 Oct 2007, Tanya wrote:

    I love McFly & although this song is cheesy I hope it charts well.

  5. At 05:01 PM on 26 Oct 2007, Louise wrote:

    i love it
    :)
    its different and still manages to be awesome!

  6. At 09:23 PM on 26 Oct 2007, emma wrote:

    i like the video

    purely bcz they're singing in the rain

    haha

    and also i do like the song for the bit where they say 'another year over and we're still together' and there's a couple drowning in a car
    ironic.....

    makes me sound quite shallow and morbid
    lol

  7. At 12:17 PM on 28 Oct 2007, JoAnne wrote:

    i love this song!

    mcfly are awesome again!!

    i think they will be aroung for a long while! =D

  8. At 10:12 AM on 29 Oct 2007, Laura wrote:

    Street team : )

    Oh and i agree with "their best work is generally at their most self-conscious and poppies" that
    although i do like their new style too

  9. At 06:10 PM on 29 Oct 2007, Emz wrote:

    saw this performed live the other week, I LUVED IT!!! THEY FILMED IT TOO! luffin dougies new hair, and the rest of the band, keep it up lads!

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