Writing to reach you or losing the plot?
#3 --- The Script --- 2012 (Phonogenic)
Having released their debut album in 2008 and seen it rocket to the top of the UK and Irish charts, followed that up with their second album (previously reviewed) which not only hit the top spot in the UK and Ireland but also blasted the US market wide open for them, we come to Irish band The Script's third album, and what you wonder is left to do? They've had a number three position on the Billboard Hot 200 with “Science and faith”, so you would have to say they've conquered America in that regard, and that's always a difficult territory for a band from outside the States to crack. They've already been hailed as musical heroes in the native land and across the water, so is it time to sit back and reflect on this, their third album? Is the pressure, as such, off?
Well you certainly wouldn't think so, listening to the album. But it does open another can of worms, so to speak. The opener is a hard rocker with a sort of rap feeling, rapid-fire vocal delivery from Danny O'Donohue and a lot of synthesiser and what could be drum machines, though I feel there are “real” drums in there somewhere too. “Good ol' days” is something of a hybrid I feel, mixing hip-hop, pop and rock elements, even coming close to dreaded boyband territory, though a deal heavier. There's a lot of energy and power in the song, and it's a good starter, certainly doesn't show The Script resting on their laurels, but for me it's just a little less rock than I prefer to hear from these guys. “Six degrees of separation” is better, with a nice piano and keyboard line backed up by some moaning violin, a more restrained vocal from Danny , but then a duet with will.i.am moves everything back towards hip-hop territory in “Hall of fame”, which though it has a nice sparkly piano line and some decent percussion isn't really what I think these guys are about, and it just sounds a little strained to me.
I'm also a little concerned that I haven't really heard too much of Mark Sheehan's guitar; I'm sure it's in there somewhere, but so far the album has been heavily keyboard and drumbeat based, and I'm waiting to hear a decent solo or even contribution from him that stands out like some of the material on “Science and faith”. The next song is acknowledged as intensely personal to the two guys, as they both lost their parents at an early age and “If you could see me now” is a tribute to both Danny's father and Mark's mother, but I'm again disappointed that instead of a tender piano ballad, which I had expected, it's another rap/hip-hop uptempo energetic song. There's no doubting the sincerity in it, but I personally hate the rap element of it, which is, let's be honest, almost all of it.
There's a boppy, almost soul/motown feel to “Glowing”, and at last we get to hear Mark's guitar, albeit not terribly strongly, but there's a great catchy hook in the chorus and this is probably the first track on the album I can honestly say I like. It's more a look back to their previous work, and as I've said I'm not too happy with the direction The Script seem to be heading in, so it's good to hear something that reminds me why I started listening to them in the first place. Ah yeah, but then we're back to rapping --- well, of a sort --- with “Give the love around”, though it does have a nice soft kind of gentle guitar melody to it, nice vocal harmonies and an almost gospel feel. There's also a nice sort of sweeping orchestral keyboard sound built into it.
Good to hear some old school acoustic guitar on “Broken arrow”, but then they start rapping again. I don't remember this being the style on “Science and faith”, and as a non-aficionado of rap I'm disappointed. There's a great mournful violin line though before it all breaks out into a big drumshot, and it's not a bad song in fairness. I'm just not a fan of rap singing, so I guess that's always going to be there. I'd probably listen to it again though to be fair. There's a lot more guitar in “Kaleidoscope”, and it's a more uptempo, rocky number, great bass line and some almost Edge-style guitar from Mark, then “No words” is a nice little mid-ballad, but we're back to the rap vocals with some female backing vox, not sure who's performing them though. The album then ends on “Millionaires”, about which the best I can say really is that it's okay.
I have to say I'm pretty disappointed by this album. To my mind, The Script seem to have totally changed their musical direction, and are heading much more in the way of pop and even hip-hop than the rock roots they displayed on the previous album. It's not a bad album, but it's by no means a great one, not in my opinion. It's changed my opinion of the band, and not for the better, obviously.
Third time lucky? Third strike? Take your pick. But it's not for me.
TRACKLISTING
1. Good ol' days
2. Six degrees of separation
3. Hall of fame
4. If you could see me now
5. Glowing
6. Give the love around
7. Broken arrow
8. Kaleidoscope
9. No words
10. Millionaires