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The Script – Sensitive Serious Souls
Irish trio ‘The Script’ take themselves and their music very, very seriously. The artwork on their album, the promotional photos and the material on the web is all tinged with a darkly meaningful air. And to a certain extent there’s a reason for that. Dublin can be a tough place to grow up, especially if you’re a sensitive arty type. Danny O’Donaghue is the ‘easy-on-the-eye’ front man/singer with an impressive vocal range. But then he should have. “The truth is I spent a lot of my childhood singing when the other kids were outside playing football and getting into trouble.” Shaven headed guitarist, Mark Sheehan is the band’s tough guy. He talks about a childhood of stealing cars and poverty and how music seemed like his way to break away. “I know it sounds like a cliché but to me, as a kid, music was a way out.” These two are joined by drummer, Glen Power, described by their record company as the “funkiest white man in Dublin”. Together they have generated a huge amount of interest with their self-titled, first album ‘The Script’ debuting at Number One in the UK charts. Featuring the two hit singles, ‘We Cry’ and ‘The Man Who Can’t be Moved’, this album took reviewers by surprise. Although the critics may not have been expecting it, the fans have responded beyond enthusiasm. So it looks like the Irish lads are here for a while. Their music fuses Celtic soul with hip hop lyrical flow, pop melodies and R’n’B style production. The lyrics expose the Irish heart of the band with sorrowful story-telling woven through almost every song. Several include strongly sing-along choruses perhaps accounting for the extraordinary popularity of this first album. Some have mentioned a similarity to U2 but to my mind, many of the songs have more in common with early ‘Sting’. Indeed what was to be the title track of the album, ‘Rusty Halo’, presents us with an almost 80’s retro feel that brings a funky edge to the collection. It’s the connection to their emotional side that seems to be behind why ‘The Script’ take themselves so seriously. "Soul is not a black thing or a white thing, it’s a human thing," Mark has said. Danny credits Stevie Wonder as the inspiration behind his undisputed singing prowess. "One day I heard Stevie Wonder singing and the hairs on the back of my neck went up. I didn't even know people could sing like that, I'd never heard the acrobatics of it before." The last track on the album, ‘I’m Yours’, is where Danny’s voice is allowed to slip into a simplicity and integrity that shows the true value of the muse. Many of the other tracks are more complex and it can be hard to really appreciate that this boy has talent with all the layers of sound that pile up around him. But in ‘I’m Yours’, there’s nothing much more than an acoustic guitar and the result is enchanting. Other songs on the album cover typical emotionally fraught topics like relationship break-ups and …. well… relationship break-ups. There’s many a song on this album that will have a young girl wishing that her ex was also a dark beautiful boy with a gorgeous accent whose heart was breaking because they’ve had a bust up. So much so that it might be a bit much for the tougher hearts out there. But these are good Catholic Irish boys with sensitive souls and some definite musical passion. So if that’s your thing, then get to know ‘The Script’. www.thescriptmusic.com http://www.myspace.com/thescript http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Script/10638675398 http://www.youtube.com/scripttube http://www.bebo.com/thescript 
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