Review Summary: The general vibe of this album is easy going, climatic, emotional and magical! #3 as a title represents three great things – Music for the head, the heart and the feet. This album really does share all these qualities.
The Script are an alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The members consist of Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power. Danny and Mark were previously part of the boy band “mytown” and met Glen to form a trio. The Script have released three full albums to date and #3 continues to stay true to their style – whilst adding even more originality. I feel The Script have always written meaningful lyrics and ambitious music which still manages to get into the charts (a tough task these days). You could also categorise The Script as Indie Pop or Pop Rock, which is correct, however they set out to include elements of R’N’B in their style; this shows more on #3 than that of its predecessors.
The general vibe of this album is easy going, climatic, emotional and magical! I have mentioned mixed feelings there and that is because this album really does meet all that criteria. Each song is different and really articulates the band’s diversity and ability. Danny’s vocals are desperate, soft, high pitched (when needed) and purely endearing. The guitars are melodic and the riffs are well thought out ensuring authenticity (the tuning creates a charming atmosphere too). The drums are powerful, resonate and at points resemble marching. This exerts purpose. All of this along with the backing vocals, and added piano/violin parts, create The Script’s new sound whilst keeping loyal to their prior music.
The songs that stand out for me are:
Six Degrees of Separation – This is my favourite song of the entire album. It may be due to the soulful riffs, soft drums, eerie piano, incredible vocals and how all this mix in the chorus to accumulate one beautiful sound. Or the lyrics and how I can relate to them; I first heard this song after my girlfriend broke up with me and felt as if every lyric suited my situation. All apart from the Sixth Degree – taking them back…
Hall of Fame – The single of the album featuring will.i.am. This song managed to get to number 1 (in the Official UK Pop Charts) regardless to how meaningful the lyrics are and how brilliantly the structure of the song has been put together. This is abnormal for the shallow Pop Charts. It may have been because will.i.am featured on the track or the fact that Danny appeared on The Voice. One thing is for sure though: The Script deserve to be at No. 1 (Oh and they write better songs than One Direction…).
Broken Arrow – The most heartfelt song on the album. The lyrics are great and Mark does a lot of rapping, even over Danny’s singing, which allows me to believe in the integrity and strength of the whole band – rather than Danny overtaking everything. I admire his leadership.
Kaleidoscope – This song feels big! It reminds me of U2 and holds the most magical sound on the album. The chorus definitely does it for me and I feel this is their ballad.
Moon Boots – The reason this song stood out for me is because it’s just different to the others and feels spacey/futuristic which reflects on the title.
The songs that fall short for me are:
Good Ol’ Days; Give the Love Around; Millionaires; Hurricanes – either the lyrics seemed a tad bit shallow for me (Millionaires) on these songs or I didn’t connect with them enough. Also the melodies were a bit boring to listen to and didn’t spark much emotion in me.
The other songs: If You Could See Me Now, Glowing and No Words seem to be mediocre but at certain points in the song (usually ¾ the way through) they present a sound, or part, that makes me consider them as being worth more. On Glowing it’s at about 2:50; it goes quiet, Danny sings some nice lyrics and it builds back up again. On No Words it’s at 2:20 where violins take over and the lead guitarist (Mark Sheehan) begins to rap. If You Could See Me Now fails to do this but the lyrics are very personal to Danny and what has happened in his family – this urges me to appreciate it more.
Danny is definitely the front man because he is the main lyricist and singer. On the contrary it feels every member is equally valued; Mark (lead guitarist) raps a lot on this album, giving it a R’N’B feel, and Danny is even lost behind him at some points. Glen (drummer) participates in backing vocals too. This expresses a lot about Danny’s personality and the closeness of the band. They’re destined to last. Balcony TV (on YouTube) have been with the band since the start and The Script were kind enough to go back there recently to perform Hall of Fame.
#3 as a title represents three great things – Music for the head, the heart and the feet. This album really does share all these qualities. I will be seeing The Script live in 2013 and I recommend anyone to try and obtain tickets!
I rate this album 4.5/5
By: Jake Moss-Bezzina (Santiago191).
http://www.thenerdcabinet.com
The Script - #3 Album review.
Genre: Alternative rock, pop rock, indie pop.
Record Label: Sony Music Entertainment.
Band Name Here
