Above the Noise

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.

The album's title comes from a line in the second verse of the single "Shine a Light": "Tell me can you hear my voice, loud and clear above the noise?"

"Shine a Light" and "Nowhere Left to Run" were produced by Taio Curz and Alan Nglish, with engineer John Hanes and assistant Tim Roberts.

Jason Perry did instrument production across "Party Girl", "Nowhere Left to Run" and "That's the Truth" at ICP Recording Studios in Brssels, Belgium.

[5] On 9 July 2010, Tom Fletcher and Dougie 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.

The song premiered on 14 July 2010 on BBC Radio 1, and a one-minute-long snippet was posted on McFly's Myspace page.

[7] On 7 January, 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 6 March.

Jon O'Brien from AllMusic rated it 3.5 stars out of 5 and positively noted 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] 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.

"[17] Hamish MacBain from the NME, while admiring the band's commercial endurance, dismissed the music as "absolute shite".

[13] David Pollock from The Scotsman positively noted that the album is "undoubtedly their best studio effort yet, but still aimed squarely at those who like their pop glossy and unchallenging".