Slim pickings for me on the singles front this week but you know what it’s like, you make the best you can with the tools you have at hand. I kick off proceedings with the new single by McFly which strangely enough I received only yesterday despite it being released on the 14th.

For the uninitiated (where have you been?) McFly were one of those bands that surfaced a few years ago along with the likes of Busted. Kid friendly teen pop with a dose of thrashy guitar thrown into the pot to give their sound that all important “diluted American” flavour. They were the Blink 182 it was OK for your granny to like with songs that were as a rule harmless yet at best possessing a hook that was catchy enough to leave you wanting to drive skewers into your eyes.

They’ve been away awhile but now it would seem they are back, with as the press blurb puts it “a bigger sound” for their new single ‘One For The Radio’. This much is true, Jason Perry has been drafted in for production duties and the result is unquestionably bigger and brighter in execution. In terms of content however it’s not much of a departure and the fact that they are now releasing material through their own brand new label rather than the major they were once with makes me wonder whether their ship has sailed. It is as the title says destined for radio play but it’s a possibility this lot’s days are numbered.

Next up is the single ‘Expectations’ from the hotly tipped Cut Off Your Hands, with production credentials courtesy of Bernard Butler my interest was piqued somewhat. Was I impressed, well frankly yes and no. It grows on you about half way through the first listen and Butler’s touch is evident throughout. it’s a pleasing enough slab of power pop that rattles along with an air of professionalism and experience that I suspect belies their respective ages. Some have compared them to The Hives, that I feel is going a bit far but I shall watch their progress with interest.

Salvation this time round comes in the form of the upcoming release from The Chemical Brothers, doing the rounds as a DJ pressing right now and with a potential release “sometime in August” their new track is the latest in the ‘battle weapon’ instalments. Electronic Battle Weapon 10 (Midnight Madness) is quite frankly massive. On the surface you have untamed synths howling across a blasted heath landscape. it’s like something huge and shiny dropping from space on to wet moorland, add to that a relentless bassline which runs like a small but finely tuned engine throughout and you have something here that is liable to take the roof of any venue it is played at. As someone else might say “Essential”.