An aircraft for cyclists? (We’ve run a bit out of steam with this…)

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[6.12]

David Lee: “Hi. I’ve been searching everywhere/and it seems I’ve finally found/Wiley, Wiley, Wiley, Wiley, Wiley, Wiley, Wiley, Wiley.”
[9]

Scott Mildenhall: “My cousin asked me, ‘If you were to go to America, what would you show them?’ No way would I show them “Heatwave”. I don’t want to show them the song I did for money.” With “Flying”, then, Wiley is quite likely back where he wants to be. That he can flit in and out of the mainstream so deftly is impressive but equally disheartening. Perhaps a lot of musicians might not always completely believe in what they’re doing, but to readily admit to it, to intentionally making something you believe somehow subpar, is pretty disrespectful to — in Wiley’s case — the hundreds of thousands of people buying it. His Dan Ashcroft complex looms large once more here; boasts of A-list playlistings followed by ones of “playing the system.” Clearly he’s never going to identify as a Rizzle Kick, but while the skittering production is entertaining enough (if not something that would actually be out of place in the chart), is a line like “don’t take a look on the beach, I love women” really any better than “I wanna get a Slush Puppie with both flavours”?
[6]

Brad Shoup: I wish he were still glowing. This is an odd thing, a 150 mph tour of the stasis of stardom. But man, that’s a great bassline. The word that comes to mind is “curt”.
[6]

Jonathan Bogart: That throbbing rapid-fire bass(ish) sequencer line is the best thing about the track, although Wiley’s commitment and speed gives it a run for its money. Because I am old and a doofus, I keep being reminded of the Beatles’ “Flying” and the Beach Boys’ “Back in the USA.” This is better than either.
[7]

Alfred Soto: The male response to Katy B’s “5 AM.” Different drugs even! Cut from the Dizzee Rascal cloth of motormouth + E-whizzed video game beats, it nevertheless settles on predictable boasting.
[5]

Anthony Easton: “I just cycle through like a cyclist” was where I lost this. Spitting verses as fast as you can (and he spits superquick) does not make a song any less lazy or exhausted. 
[2]

Iain Mew: “First Class,” my favourite track on Wiley’s 2013 major-label album The Ascent, was about flying too, specifically about enjoying the step up from economy class. Since then, Wiley’s fallen out with the label and gone back to an independent (again), and “Flying” is strictly metaphorical. He stakes his claim to be re-energised in a more down-to-earth way. It’s punctuated by cars zooming past, he likens himself to double yellow lines and at one point he rejects stylists with “I’ll just cycle through like a cyclist.” Still, for all the point scoring and impressiveness of his flow, it’s not simply a technical exercise like “Evolve or Be Extinct” last time he went it alone. “Flying” hits much harder than “Heatwave”, but in its own way its relentless energy and the force of its repeated chorus make for pop at least as good.
[8]

Will Adams: The instrumental may be flying, but the hook just coasts.
[6]