Being an ardent fan of the Irish band, The Script, it would be an understatement to say I was excited for the release of their fourth album, No Sound Without Silence.
Being an ardent fan of the Irish band, The Script, it would be an understatement to say I was excited for the release of their fourth album, No Sound Without Silence. They were the first concert I ever went to and, since then, they have gone from strength to strength and acquired a new legion of fans along the way.
At this point, I feel the need to publicly confirm I was one of their first fans and did not become a Scripter (I really hope that catches on) because Danny was on The Voice. If that was you, I’m just disappointed to be frank. The release of the song ‘Superheroes’ debuted at number three on the UK Singles chart and only served to make fans even more excited for the rest of the album.
A change of direction
In recent years, The Script have been thrust more into the limelight for different reasons. Aside from the fact that lead vocalist/pianist Danny O’Donoghue was a judge on the Saturday night show The Voice, their albums have gone platinum and they have been touring, most recently with One Republic.
Personally, I have felt their music has changed direction over this time and become more pop than rock. Whether or not intentional, it has been a gradual change and rather than categorising them as a “soft rock band” which Wikipedia used to do, The Script can now be more accurately classified as a pop rock band.
If Wikipedia can’t give you the cold, hard facts then who can?
This gradual change is most evident in No Sound Without Silence, which has adhered more to a pop style rather than rock and truly cemented, for me, their subtle change in genre. Almost all tracks have a memorable catchy hook, and despite the sometimes-there rock guitar it isn’t quite the same as their previous work, in particular their eponymous debut album.
Their first album in particular was more moving and meaningful and, with the personal exception for me of ‘Rusty Halo,’ I found all their songs to be beautifully worded and memorable.
Thus, as catchy as the tunes are on this fourth studio album, they are a little more pop, a little more shallow and a little less addictive. With a few notable exceptions, such as the ballad-like ‘Never Seen Anything “Quite Like You,” ‘It’s Not Right For You’ and ‘Flares’ (all of which I am playing constantly on repeat), the rest are just a little too different to what I was hoping for.
Catchy, unfortunately is not enough for me. After all, Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ was catchy and I never want to hear it ever again. It gives no strong indicator of musical greatness, simply take a look at songs in the top ten of the current music chart (cough cough ‘Crazy Stupid Love’).
If songs are being penned by artists themselves (which they ought to be) we want something deeply poignant and real, though this doesn’t mean it can’t be upbeat.
Unrealistic expectations?
Before angry fans try and track me down, it is not as if I won’t be buying the album, but it simply hasn’t lived up to my expectations for me to be able to fully sing its praises.
However, it is perhaps that my expectations weren’t realistic. It wasn’t particularly reasonable to hope that the band’s music would be more like their first album rather than their third. They have evolved, and unfortunately, it is in the opposite direction I was hoping for.
Despite this, the album has meaningful gems here and there and is incredibly catchy, leaving in poised for commercial success. It includes a good amount of variety, ‘Paint the Town Green’ is jaunty and carnival-esque, whereas ‘Man on A Wire’ is the closest to their old work and a ballad can be found with ‘Never Seen Anything “Quite Like You.”
I was, perhaps, expecting too much.
Having found those few favourites amongst them all, I’ll still be recommending them to everyone who will listen, but will point them in the direction of the first album and only those few songs of the latest album rather than the album in its entirety.
To end in typical fan-girl fashion: I still love you!
What do you think of the new album? Have your say in the comments section below.
