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It is invigorating to see a mainstream band where the members are not just pretty faces. It’s great to hear a band with actual talent and true artistic quality, a band that writes and records music that does not cater to a specific genre of music. The Script is the band of 2011.
With St. Patrick’s Day nearing around the corner, it seems fitting to introduce the semi-known band that hails from Dublin, Ireland. The trio includes lead singer Danny O’Donoghue, guitarist Mark Sheehan and drummer Glen Power.
This pop-rock band debuted their self-titled first album in the UK in 2008. The album hit number one in the UK Album Charts where it dominated for two weeks straight. It also hit the Irish Album Chart where it held the number one position for five weeks.
Their first album is intelligent, beautifully crafted and compelling, and full of soul, r&b, pop, and eclectic beats. O’Donoghue’s vocals can be best described as Bono-meets-Eminem-meets-Justin Timberlake, and the trio itself couldn’t be a greater group. Also judging on Sheehan’s artistic guitar techniques and Power’s hard rhythmic drumming, it is no wonder why this band has made such a splash in the UK and the US.
The self-entitled album released five singles including “We Cry”, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” and the more famous, “Breakeven”. “Breakeven” was released in the US in late 2009 and the band performed it live, for the first time, in the US, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2009. It was described as a “stadium filling confessional that will lay waste to vast tracts of America in due course,” according to BBC Music. Since then, their tracks have been featured on a number of television shows including Vampire Diaries, 90210, The Hills, Ghost Whisperer and a variety of video games.
“Science and Faith,” their second album, was released in the US earlier this year. It’s an addictive blend of hip-hop rhythms, flowing melodies, story-telling lyrics and artistic hooks. The group says their inspiration came from the “current social and economic climate in Ireland.”
But don’t let that fool you. You won’t hear anything close to U2’s “War” or The Clash’s “London Calling”. Instead, “Science and Faith” exposes love through difficult times with a sense of melancholic hope. Their music is not about sending specific messages to their audience; rather, they aim to be reflective and compassionate, to be therapeutic and find connections with their fans.
Their single “For the First Time” is about leaving your comfort zone and experiencing new things with someone you love. It’s about opening up your heart to your partner and never giving up. “Nothing” and “If You Ever Come Back” are brilliant in their simplicity. Some claim that all their songs off their album sound alike, style wise and perhaps even theme wise. But that just means if you like one, you will like them all.
Their second album displays a growth and maturation in the band’s musical career. The lyrics are deeper, the beats are stronger and the theme reaches to an even larger audience. Above all, the band itself has proven to be true to their name.
“That’s where the name The Scipt came from,” O’Donoghue said in an interview. “We decided not to name the band until we had a lot of these songs written. We found out that it was a lot of story lines, plots, people, characters, a lot of universal themes.”
You will like the band for their sound, but when you get in touch with the lyrics and the meanings behind the songs, you will fall in love with their music. The Script is without a doubt the next big thing in 2011.
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