When journalists made comparisons between the new McFly single and Lady Gaga, I thought it was just a bad description based on the Dallas Austin-produced "Party Girl" having some electro influences in it.
Party Girl (Clip) by poppostergirl
(Full credit and many thanks for that recording goes to here.)
I was wrong. Boy, those opening "ohh"s could have come straight out of a Lady Gaga song, couldn't they? Of course, after that, the song takes a different direction.
Apparently the full thing is getting played on British radio tonight, but as far as premature evaluations based on fifty-four second clips go, I'm pretty excited.
OK, that's an understatement: the verse and and bridge are both FANTASTIC, hard electro-pop with a great topline. They're shout-it-from-the-rooftops amazing. Though I have nowhere near the right persona to pull off an expression like this, they are in fact, as reported, "rocking." My only concern is that I hope there's more to the chorus than we're hearing, a second half that is irresistably catchy and as aggressive as the music from those earlier sections; so far, it's the least impressive part of the song. Still, we hear so little that I'm fairly hopeful that there's more to the chorus or that it makes sense in its complete form.
After being very underwhelmed by the single from their greatest hits and all the singles except "Falling In Love" from Radio:ACTIVE, it's such a relief to be excited and enthusiastic about a lead single from them again.
"Party Girl" is out September 6 (why so far out?), with the album probably out in November or so and preceded by a second single, "Shine A Light."
8 comments:
Oh, gosh ... I hate to say it, PG, but I'm not impressed with this one. To be fair, maybe they wanted to change their sound to this, but I can't help but wonder if pressure from "what's hot on the charts now" is pushing them...? I miss the rock-pop sound of their earlier releases ... this is too "electro-pop" for me, at least in terms of what McFly are "supposed to" sound like (and what made me fall in love with them in the first place).
And for the record ... "The Heart Never Lies" is one of my FAVORITE McFly tunes! What can I say? I'm a sucker for a well-structured power-ballad. ;-)
-T
Hi, Tom! It's good to hear from you...
...even if I completely disagree ;) To me, what matters is that the music is good, and (in my opinion!) it sounds like it is here. They've switched sounds pretty significantly for each album, so I guess I'm less phased by the change and actually pleased that it seems as if they've moved away from a sound I didn't like as much to one I do (though I keep thinking one of these days I'm going to play Radio:Active and suddenly fall in love with it), even if my site-unheard preference would have been a return to the "Transylvania"/"We Are The Young"/"Friday Night"/"Sorry's Not Good Enough" sound. Anyway, I know there's no way I'd be able to convince you of anything else--we know I have more of a taste for electro than you do, and that's perfectly fine :)
To be honest, I haven't listened to "The Heart Never Lies" in years, so maybe I'd like it more now. At the time, though, I remember being completely baffled and frustrated when non-McFly fans reacted with "finally, an OK song from them"--I love a good power ballad, but that one felt turgid and lifeless to me at the time. "Falling In Love" is, for my money, a much better ballad than I remember that song being.
Having now heard the whole thing, I must say I feel a bit like Tom at the moment (the one who commented, not the one who sings). The sound and the production are obviously impressive, but the song in itself seems pretty poor and I'm afraid I'll tire of it rather quickly. After loving Radio:Active, which is IMO by far their best album, I feel like they're on the verge of making one hell of a faux-pas in their career. But I hope I'm wrong.
Pierre (you're the Pierre I'm thinking of, right? It's good to hear from you again, too), it could be that the sound and production is what I'm falling for--there are so many little exciting details going on it--and the chorus is, upon hearing the full thing, still the weakest part of the song in my ears, which is problematic; it raises questions for the song's longevity. Still, it's got an intense, exciting feel that I'm won over by at the moment, albeit with a concern or two in the back of my mind.
Radio:Active was frustrating for me--there would be a part of a song I loved and then there would be a part that rubbed me the wrong way, and few songs "popped" for me. It felt more dissonant and instrumentally heavier (especially in terms of guitar parts, particularly in the choruses). I think the melodies and songwriting were still there--and often beautiful--but they were decorated with arrangements or production that wouldn't have been my choice.
Still, I'm really going to have to give it another listen. Maybe I just had to "grow up" into it.
well, it's taken me a few days... and it's still a work in progress for me, but i'm getting there. What saddens me is that it wasn't instantaneous for me and it should have been because of my overriding love for the mc. But I do like it, i'm just not sure what to make of it. But I want to love it - and that's important for me too - because otherwise i'd just give up. That makes it sound like listening to it is work - it's absolutely not. You are so right about the verses... the chorus takes some time.
What a lot of twaddle that was. I fully expect to have a more fully formed opinion by my weekly catch up post on Sunday!!
There seems to be so many fans of McFly in the pop-world but unfortunately I don't manage to remember any of their previous works. But this single is all sorts of awesomeness, such Gaga-influenced stuff is very welcome for me so I'm really looking forward to listen full version!
Paul, I am not returning to it quite as much as I might like yet, but I'm putting that down to overplaying the clip and not having the full thing in proper quality. We shall see if that's true, though... I know you like them, so I totally "get" your position, I think.
They seem to be in short supply on pop forums but around in overwhelming numbers everywhere else, Damian! I'm glad you're liking the sound of this single.
Well, I'm not sure if I am the Pierre you remember, but we did interact in the past, although I wouldn't have thought you'd remember me. :)
Maybe I like Radio:Active if my favourite album of them because, perversely, it sounds less formatted (less pop? ... maybe not). Or because I was just happy to see them trying to do their own thing. Still, POV is clearly for me the best song of their career, with Saturday Night maybe.
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