Room On The 3rd Floor - McFly

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Infectious dancey, pop, excellence
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Anyone who went to see Busted last year will know that McFly were their excellent support act along with another new pop boy band V, in fact McFly got about the same amount of screaming and cheering from the crowd as Busted did (and I admit I was one of those screaming). McFly consist of 4 cute teenage lads living out every other teenage boys and girls fantasy of being in a pop band and being able to jump around the stage every night with their instruments and basically having a good time. Tom Fletcher plays guitar and does vocals, Danny Jones plays guitar, harmonica, and sings, Dougie Poynter is the bassist and also does vocals, and the final member Harry Judd plays drums. They have been nicknamed “Mini Busted” because they all play their own instruments and write all their own songs, James from Busted actually co-wrote this album with Tom, and Tom co-wrote Busted’s album, so you can see why there are so many comparisons between the two, however the two music sounds and styles are very different.

I was instantly hooked after listening to this album, every single song is fun, energetic, and just soooo catchy, I can guarantee you will be playing your air guitar and singing these tunes all day long after hearing them just once. You can hear where the guys get their inspiration from as many of the songs have a Beach Boys sound, in fact when I was playing it in the car my mum asked why I was listening to the Beach Boys! McFly also state that they also get their inspiration from Blink 182, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles, which is also very noticeable on this album.

Get Over You is the first track, but it is hidden, so you have to pretend to be playing five colours in her hair but press rewind and then you find this song. This song is very simple as it only has an acoustic guitar strumming all the way through under the vocals, which are sung by Tom in the first verse and Danny in the second verse. There are a lot of harmonies done by the other lads and there are lots of ooohs and ahhhs in the background, then for the chorus, the harmonies are back again, which they are extremely good at. Just to add something different to the song, Danny plays his harmonica, which makes it sound very unique and original. This song is extremely catchy and makes you want to sway from side to side.

Five colours in her hair is next and this must be the most recognisable McFly song.
It was their debut single which went straight in at number one. This song is extremely catchy with the do do do do do doooooo, it will have you singing it for the rest of the day. It is very 50’s sounding and is written about the girl from the programme As If as she had five colours in her hair. Their are lots of electric guitar and drums in this song, as well as excellent vocals by Tom who manages to hit some very high notes in the middle section, there is also a great electric guitar solo and brilliant lyrics such as “She’s just a weirdo with no name”. At the end of the song you can hear the lads laughing around, and Danny saying “Did you hear my voice” then does a high pitched screech noise.

Obviously is next, which was their second single and which also got to number one. It begins with a strumming acoustic guitar and Tom singing, then the drums kick in and it becomes another very catchy and addictive song, which will have you dancing around all day. Once again there are some great lyrics, perhaps hinting at an unrequited love as they sing “I never will be good enough for her” aaahhh! Danny’s singing in this sounds very gravely and rough, he also has quite a deep voice for a lad of only 18!

Room on the Third floor is the title track of the album, and it is one of my favourites as it is a more mellow song and has a more mature sound, it also has a very heavy Beatles influence with the middle section which has a lot of Na Na Na Na‘s. This song was written about the hotel room Tom and Danny first stayed in when they went to London, and funnily enough it was on the third floor! The song is basically about keeping their feet on the ground no matter how big they get. It starts with an electric guitar riff then you hear light drums and Tom begins singing about how “One bed is broken, next room is smoking, and air conditioning is stuck on heat.” The lyrics in all of Mcfly's songs you can relate to as they are very realistic and said how “normal” people would say them. The drums become more prominent for the second verse where gravely voiced Danny starts singing about the housekeeping. The song begins to build with the drums and guitar becoming more prominent until the rousing finale of a great guitar riff.

The next song That Girl begins with the shout of 1,2,3,4, then an electric guitar firing up. This song has a fast tempo and it is hard not to nod your head to it. The song lyrics for the first verse are basically about going out with the guys, meeting a girl, and his mates saying “Dude you’re being silly cause you’re never gonna get the girl”. In the second verse he does get the girl and his mates are saying “Dude she’s amazing I can’t believe you got the girl.” There is a great electric guitar solo in the middle accompanied by the drums, and the guitar sounds like it does a purr at the end. Then when the third verse starts tragedy happens and he sees her with another guy, and he states “Loneliness has been a friend of mine“ and his mates can’t believe he’s lost that girl, aaahhh!

Hypnotized is the next 50’s style song and it has a very different sound. Tom and Danny sing the main verses again, and Danny’s rough voice and Tom’s sweet innocent sounding voice compliment each other very well. This is the first song where you can actually hear the bass as it has a solo between the verses and the chorus. This song has a very big harmonica section in it which is very different and original for a band to use in a pop song of today. Again the lyrics are funny and original “You’re not even worth writing lyrics for” Tom sings. There are also some dramatic pauses with the drums and vocals.

Saturday Night is another one of my faves, the lads actually opened their set with this one when they supported Busted as it is a great dancy, party song. This has a more rockier sound then the other songs on the album, as there is huge emphasis on the electric guitar and drums. Basically this song is saying how “Everybody likes to party on a Saturday night”, although I’m not sure whether Tom and Co can actually fit 20’000 people in their house for the party as they state in the lyrics! Again there is another great guitar solo, you can tell that these guys are really talented. And once again the song ends in a rousing finale with electric guitar and then Tom laughing.

The next song Met this girl is about a girl walking into the room and his heart going Boom. It has a great simple tune which is repeated all the way through under the vocals. This is another Beach Boys influenced song, and has a very catchy chorus with lots of Ba ba ba ba ba. It has a great drum roll solo in the middle, and when Tom starts singing again their are effects on his vocals.

She left me is another favourite of mine as it reminds me of a song you would hear in the film Grease, but it was meant to have sounded like a song from the school dance in one of the Back to the future films, which is where they got their name from (Marty McFly). This song is slower then the others on the album, and begins with guitar, light drums, then Tom begins singing about how she left him. Tom once again shows what excellent vocal range he has as there are a lot of high notes in the chorus. For the second verse drums become more prominent and Danny begins singing. There is an excellent section in this song where they pretend they are speaking on an answering machine “I‘ve left messages after the tone“ “Really?” “Yeah man loads“, this is very original and unique.

Down by the lake is next and it is my favourite on the whole album. It is very guitar influenced with special effects on Tom’s voice when he is singing. This song is extremely catchy, and is basically about how his girlfriends dad saw them making out down by the lake, and how he doesn’t approve of them. The drums and electric guitar can be heard all the way through this and the harmonies and arrangement of the backing vocals is excellent. Once again the lyrics are original and there is a pause in the song before an excellent guitar riff solo, you can’t help but dance around your living room playing your air guitar.

I have to admit the next song Unsaid things is not one of my favourites as I feel it sounds to much like other songs on the album. The singing also sounds a bit whiney on this one, and all sounds very repetitive. This song is written about the same girl they talk about in Obviously, and there are the classic lyrics “She’s got pregnant with a baby”, what else is she going to be pregnant with?

Surfer Babe is very Beach Boys influenced, you can imagine sitting on the beach watching all the surfers in the sea. It starts with just vocals but then the guitar comes in, and begins playing a tune which is repeated all the way through the song. It is a very fast, fun, up-tempo song about how he wants to date a surfer babe. I like this song as in the middle section it is just Tom singing, then the guitar and bass come in then each person sings the line “But you are” which is great as it is the first time you get to hear Dougie sing as he is classed as a vocalist!

Not Alone was written just by Danny. On the first hearing I didn’t like this song as I thought it sounded very whiney and shoutey, but this has really grown on me and has become one of my favourites, it is a very emotional and honest song which is beautifully written and excellently sung. It has a slow tempo, light drums, and a lot of electric guitar. For the second verse the drums kick in and become more prominent, it is now Tom‘s voice which sounds very gravely and rough on this one which makes a change from his posh accent which can be heard on the other songs. The song gets louder towards the end and really shows off the lads vocal abilities, but then it calms down again for the end where it’s just light drums, piano and acoustic guitar.

The last song is Broccoli, which is another fun guitar heaven song. It begins with a piano and then Tom begins singing, you can really hear his posh accent in this song especially when he says the word “mum” and “tea“. Basically this song is about him cooking dinner, the broccoli was done but then she calls him up to say she’s not coming round for tea, and he just wants to know that she cares. The drums and guitar are very prominent in this one, and there is a lot of piano as well which makes a refreshing change as it hasn’t been used much on the rest of the album. The end of the song is the boys doing marvellous harmonies.

This album is about enjoyment and you're missing out if you don't hear it, it has everything you could possibly want from a pop album, infectious drumbeats, harmonised vocals, and basically 100% air guitar heaven. It hasn't left my CD player since I brought it from Asda for £9.77 (but you can get it for a little bit more from places like HMV or for £8.49 on Amazon). I would totally recommend this if you like music that makes you feel like a million dollars and if you want a CD you're going to feel like listening to on repeat - Busted this band certainly aren't.