You could argue that, if emotional maturity is what you’re after, then you don’t look to a supergroup featuring ex-members of Busted and McFly. But on the track What Happened to Your Band, the six-piece pull off a remarkable trick: a harmony-drenched pop-punk number that makes post-fame despair seem oddly relatable, repositioning it as a breakup that affects both band and fan alike. Sadly, any burgeoning feeling that McBusted have gone and written this generation’s Blood on the Tracks dwindles completely when the band proceed to tackle such tangled issues of the heart as playing air guitar (Air Guitar), riding a bike (Riding on My Bike) and worrying about their hair (How’s My Hair?). The melodies, mostly strong, are often ruined by cringe-inducing humour (“We went for dinner at a steak restaurant – I’m vegetarian”). Perhaps aMcBusted album that engaged seriously with the loss of mega-success would have made for a better listen – and that’s not a sentence I ever expected to be writing.
