Above the Noise

Above the Noise
Studio album by McFly
Released	15 November 2010 (see release history)
Recorded	2009-2010, DARP Studios Atlanta ICP Recording Studios Brussels
Genre	Pop punk, synthpop, electropop, pop rock
Length	42:12
Label	Island / Universal
Producer	Alan Nglish, Dallas Austin, Taio Cruz, Jason Perry, Adam Noble
McFly chronology
Radio:Active (2008) Above the Noise (2010)
Singles from Above the Noise
"Party Girl" Released: 5th September 2010 "Shine a Light" Released: 14th November 2010 "That's the Truth" Released: 6 March 2011

Above the Noise is the fifth studio album from British band McFly. The album was released on 15 November 2010.^[1] The album spawned three singles: "Party Girl", which was released on 6 September; "Shine a Light", which was released on 8 November;^[2] and "That's the Truth", which was released on 6 March 2011. The album's title was revealed when it was made available to pre-order from the HMV website. The band made the album available to download to members of their new official website, SuperCity. The band have worked with producers Dallas Austin and Taio Cruz on the album, which sees them return to their former record label, Island Records.^[3] The album's tracklisting was revealed on 25 October 2010.^[4] The album was certified as Silver in the UK. The album was released concurrently with the DVD Behind the Noise, which was exclusive to Asda, which contained behind-the-scenes footage from the album in addition to two music videos.

Background

After the release of "Falling in Love", the band headed back into the studio to begin work on their next album. On 22 January 2010, it was announced that the band were going to re-sign with former label Island Records. This was later revealed to be a 50/50 deal that sees all profits except publishing split between Universal and McFly, including money from touring, record sales, merchandise and sponsorship.^[5][6] The band began writing with producer Dallas Austin in April 2010. On 9 July 2010 Fletcher and Poynter confirmed on Twitter that the first single from the album would be called "Party Girl", a track which was written in Atlanta with Austin.^[7] According to Austin, "Party Girl" is the only track on the album with a heavily dance-oriented sound. The song premiered on 14 July 2010 on BBC Radio 1, and a one minute long snippet was posted on McFly's MySpace page. On the same day, InDemand played the full song. The single was released on 6 September 2010, peaking at #6 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single from the album, "Shine a Light", is a track produced and jointly written with Taio Cruz. The song premiered on 21 September 2010, following a video treasure hunt competition involving the band.^[8] The treasure hunt allowed fans to appear in the music video for the track by hunting for clues to get to the place of filming. The single was released on 8 November 2010.^[9] On January 7, Tom and Dougie announced in a video message via SuperCity that "That's The Truth" would be the next single from the album, and it would be released on March 6. A video for the song was recorded and live recording footage was broadcast through SuperCity. The video deals with Dougie Poynter's admission to rehab following his split with Frankie Sandford. This also resulted in three dates of the group's tour being rescheduled.

Tour

See: Above The Noise Tour 2011

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
BBC	favourable[11]
Entertainment-Focus	positive[12]
Funky.com	[13]
Music News Daily	[14]
NME	(5/10)[15]
OK! Magazine	[16]
The Scotsman	positive[17]
Virgin Media	[18]

The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics. Jon O'Brien from Allmusic rated it 3.5 stars (out of 5) and said, positively, that: "Above the Noise is McFly's most consistently strong collection of songs in their six-year career. Whether it will be enough to prevent their worrying sales decline remains to be seen, but by embracing their pop sensibilities, they've at least given themselves a fighting chance of competing with their contemporaries".^[10] Iain Moffaft from BBC gave a positive review for the album, saying, "It's the most radical break we can remember at this stage of a band's career since Everything but the Girl's jaunt into jungle, and one that confirms that McFly are not only conclusively back, but they might just have guaranteed themselves a future".^[11] The OK! Magazine review was also positive, saying that "Anyone who's anyone in pop is going all 80s these days. Guitars are so yesterday, grandad and retro synths are where it's at! Even McFly – famous for their playschool punk-pop sound – have done it. And while it would be easy to accuse them of jumping on bandwagons to make a pile of cash, we're pleased because this is the best thing they've done."^[16] The Entertainment Focus review was positive too, saying that: "Above the Noise is the best record that McFly have released in the 6 years they've been together. Finally maturing musically and moving away from the teen-pop of previous releases, the band embrace pop sensibilities to create the strongest collection of songs they've ever recorded. Above the Noise should be a huge seller as we approach Christmas and don't be surprised if it spawns several hit singles".^[12] Emma Dawson from M is for Music gave a mixed review, calling it a "embarrassing and average album", stating, "Above the Noise may be a welcome change and will certainly help them back on their feet after Radio:Active, however I'd much rather go and listen to Room on the Third Floor and Wonderland to remind me of the pop band they once were, and what I secretly wish they still were."^[19] David Pollock from The Scotsman, positively, saw that: "Undoubtedly their best studio effort yet, but still aimed squarely at those who like their pop glossy and unchallenging".^[17] Johnny Dee from Virgin Media conclued that "Above the Noise is a stab at a mature pop sound which sometimes results in a bonkers Duran Duran meets Muse mish-mash complete with War of the Worlds rock opera climax".^[18]

Track listing

The track listing was revealed when the album was made available to pre-order on Amazon.^[20]

Notes

• 'I Need A Woman' samples "My Girl", recorded by The Temptations and written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, and includes a riff from "Supreme", recorded by Robbie Williams and written by Williams and Guy Chambers. 'End Of The World' samples "War Of The Worlds", written and recorded by Jeff Wayne. 'iF U C Kate' has been abbreviated to 'Kate' on the Japanese version of the album, possibly due to the suggestiveness of the title. The album also includes the solo version of 'Shine A Light'.

Release history

Personnel

• Danny Jones – guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Tom Fletcher – guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Harry Judd – drums, percussion
• Dougie Poynter – bass, backing vocals
• Dallas Austin – producer, executive producer, keyboard (except on track 4), synths
• Jason Perry – producer, executive producer, drums (on track 2,6,8), guitar (on track 2,6)
• Mike Hartnett – bass, drums (only on track 3)
• Tony Reyes – guitar on track 3
• Taio Cruz – singer, synths, keyboard, producer
• Alan Nglish – producer
• Nels Israelson – photography
• Robert Orton – audio mixer
• Serban Ghenea – audio mixer (only on track 4)

Chart performance

In UK, Above the Noise debuted at number 20 with sales of 17,662 sales in the first week, and by the end of the year was certified Silver, with sales of over 60,000. Since its release the album has sold at total of 81,000 so far in the UK. It fared better on the UK Albums Download Chart, peaking at number 7. In Scotland it peaked at number 20, and at number 79 in Ireland. In Spain, Above the Noise marks the first time an album of McFly's has peaked higher than in the UK; it peaked at number 15.

Certifications

References