School's out for summer! Room On The 3rd Floor is going to be the soundtrack to many a teenager's school holiday.
The four-piece outfit has already entered the Guinness Book Of Records as the youngest band ever to achieve a number one entry with its debut album.
And I'll drink to that.
The unbridled joy of pubescence thunders from every track by McFly. Tom Fletcher (18 years old), and Danny Jones (a year his junior) are probably the most exciting and talented new pop writers around.
All right, so their influences are truly opaque: The Beatles, Beach Boys and Oasis, but they have written some corkers and given a new twist to bubblegum pop.
Interestingly, Tom co-wrote many of the tracks on Busted's last album, and McFly performed with Busted on the spunky Build Me Up Buttercup, on the B-side of Crashed The Wedding.
In fact, Tom's connection with Busted goes back to being short listed to join the band.
Five Colours In Her Hair and Obviously, both enormous hits, set the style of their repertoire: fun, fast, filthy and fabulous.
Despite coming from the South East of England, references to Marines and Surfer Babes echo images of Californian indulgence.
If The Monkees' TV show were to be remade in the summer of 2004, it would have a soundtrack by McFly.
Room On The 3rd Floor has some great and sometimes curious lines. Enjoying new-found freedom away from parental care Fletcher & Jones observe that there is "no one here to check if you're underage" and you have most fun with your girlfriend "when daddy's not around".
Oh the joys of youth. But be careful in case you get "pregnant with a baby"... whatever else? This is a great album, a little bit samey perhaps, but that's OK. Pumped up on adrenaline and thumping testosterone, there's no time to be mellow when you are 17.
Updated: 08:50 Thursday, July 15, 2004
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