The Script are most definitely back with their sixth album Sunsets and Full Moons, which is being called the sequel to their self-titled debut album (released in 2008). It has been a hard year for Danny O’Donoghue (vocals, piano & guitar), Mark Sheehan (vocals and guitar) and Glen Power (vocals and drums) they have all been put through the wringer emotionally; from the break up of relationships to the death of parents.
What the band always do well is write their personal feelings and raw emotions out on paper for all to see. This album defines beginnings and ends, the full circle of emotions that people go through in day to day life. But also proving that there is light at the end of the tunnel “as dark as the night will get, the sun is coming up in the morning” said O’Donoghue when describing the background to the album.
The album opens with a dance style track Something Unreal. It is about someone going through a hard time (for reasons undisclosed in the track). O’Donoghue sings about ‘staying up all night, getting drunk, getting high’ also exploring the aspect of someone self-harming. This song has raw emotion and explores the idea that someone can hide through social media, by living a pretend life; acting like everything is ok on the screen but in reality, the person is hurting and needs help from the people they need the most. The track puts into perspective that you really need to dig deep before someone will tell you what is truly wrong. Especially if they want something that is now unreal or no longer achievable such as a hug from a loved one that has recently passed.
This leads on to track two and the band’s first single from the album The Last Time. This song is first and foremost a breakup song. It shows the stages of a relationship from firsts, to what one person in the relationship hopes is never the last moment. But it inevitably happens and you get home one day and your other half has left you, all their stuff is gone. Anyone who has had a breakup from a long-term relationship will resonate with the powerful rocky hurt emotion that O’Donoghue puts through this song.
Perhaps one of the most powerful songs on the album is Run Through Walls. This is a song which O’Donoghue has openly said was written just a week after he and his family buried their mother (which was sadly also the anniversary of the burial of their father). It is a thank-you to the friends that were there for him in his darkest hour. He felt it was important to acknowledge them. It is an extremely emotional song that brought me to tears. It really shows a person who their true friends are when going through grief, certain people will just drop everything to be there for you no matter what. Those ‘friends won’t let you do stupid things’.
For me, the only track on the album that doesn’t stand out is Hot Summer Nights. Yes, it does show people that there is light at the end of what may seem like a constant tunnel of darkness. However, the song is contrastingly too happy for such an emotionally powerful album. The music and theme for this song is vastly different from the rest of the album. It may have fitted better within the album if it wasn’t the last track.
I feel the anthem of the album is Underdog, it is the standout song of the album and my personal favourite. It could potentially be a tour opener. It starts so powerfully with forceful lyrics and a hint of piano keys ‘Just when you think I’ve given up, I start to fight, when you think I’ve had enough, I start to bite. I’m gonna prove the whole world wrong tonight. This is for the underdog.’ Before breaking into a fierce drumbeat. Underdog will resonate with anybody who has felt underappreciated. This song could become many peoples fights song. It truly is for underdogs.
This album marks a turning point in the trio’s life they have all lost parents over the years some within the last few months and they have all had breakups of relationships in their past. They have all come through the darkness into the light. The Script have stripped all the bells and whistles that were on their previous album Freedom Child and gone back to the raw sound that they do best. I believe that this album will resonate to everybody who listens to it. Sunsets and Full Moons echo’s the band’s personal feelings that they want us to experience and relate to. Music is a powerful thing and Sunsets and Full Moons is one powerful album.
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