The Script have just released their third studio album, the oh so imaginatively named #3 and it’s certainly an interesting listen. This demonstrates the band’s desire to move from their popular reputation as a band of ballads, as shown by their most successful tracks from previous albums ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ and ‘Break Even.’ There is far more rap on this album, which for the most part mixes well with the vocals of Danny O’Donoghue to create some interesting sounds. There are some particularly emotional songs which connected with me as a listener, and some songs which I just enjoyed because they were pleasing to the ear, rather than anything that blew me away.
‘Broken Arrow’ is one of the most engaging songs on the album. From the start the song gripped me and I enjoyed listening it through. Vocals from O’Donoghue and rapping from guitarist Mark Sheehan meld together well, and the chorus has an engaging hook and very memorable lyrics, “shooting across the sky like a broken arrow/ it’s so hard to keep yourself on the straight and narrow.” I really like the lyrics and message of this song, the battle between trying to be good when you are supposedly meant to be “hell bound.” This song will certainly be added to some of my favourite playlists. The mix of rap and singing really works with the dramatic backdrop of guitar and drums, whereas in ‘Hall of Fame’ the mix of the two vocal styles feels much more forced.
This lead single features collaboration with O’Donoghue’s fellow The Voice judge Will.I.Am, and I think that I would prefer the song without the rapper if I’m honest. I don’t feel that it adds much to the song, although it does have an engaging chorus. ‘Millionaires’ is an enjoyable track, as is ‘Good Ol’ Days’, with the sense that eventually everyone will look back at the current time, and feel nostalgic, which I think is particularly apt for university students. I was a little bored by ‘Spread the Love Around’ finding the whole song very samey, and nothing particularly engaging. ‘If You Could See Me Now’ is particularly touching, and you can feel the pain at losing parents at such a young age as the writers of the song did; it feels like a complete outpouring of emotion and pain, and has more impact because of this.
This is a pleasant album, but at the end of the day, I’m not sure that it is much more than this. There are some very bright spots in the album, but it’s nothing ground breaking. At times, the band really manages to connect to the listener on a basic level with it’s emotional tracks, but there is something lacking in the final execution which merely makes it a good album, not a great one.
6/10
