Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/17/2009
When the roof fell in on the boy band scene, crushing young
Westlife soundalikes
Mytown, Dubliners
Danny O'Donoghue and
Mark Sheehan high-tailed it to L.A. to engineer for the likes of
Teddy Riley,
the Neptunes, and
Rodney Jerkins. Together with drummer
Glen Power, three-piece
the Script became an overnight success in the U.K. and Ireland with their debut single
"We Cry," although their self-titled album bears the imprint of their internship in California, a meticulously and well-scripted (excuse the pun) blend of smooth soul and radio rock in the mould of
Maroon 5 and
OneRepublic (indeed, they share much in common with the latter, having both worked with
Timbaland in the past). Singles
"We Cry" and follow-up
"The Man Who Can't Be Moved" are obvious highlights, the former a catalog of hard luck stories -- single mothers, drug-addled rock stars, the usual suspects -- set to the tune of moody jazz guitar chords and lavish strings.
"The Man Who Can't Be Moved" calls to mind the soul-infused modern rock of
John Legend, while
"Talk You Down" sees
O'Donoghue talk a friend down from the brink of suicide in the style of
Daniel Bedingfield. The highlights come fast and early -- though
"Before the Worst" borrows a little too much from
Coldplay's
"Speed of Sound" for comfort -- and by the time the boy-band imitations
"I'm Yours" and
"If You See Kay" roll around,
the Script has exhausted its songwriting well twice over.
~Dave Donnelly, All Music Guide
;)
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