Album Review: The Script – The User’s Guide to Being Human
2 min read
Irish pop-rock group The Script have stood the test of time, even through adversity. Forming in 2001, it wasn’t until their 2008 debut that they saw major success with We Cry and The Man Who Can’t Be Moved. Since then, they’ve not only consistently put out material and toured, but sadly lost founding member Mark Sheehan in 2023. Despite this loss, the remaining duo have continued in his memory, and have returned this year with album eight, The User’s Guide to Being Human.
Man in the Arena starts the album off with a sound reminiscent of the early 2010’s. A driving drumbeat, nearly rapped vocals from singer Danny, and a chugging guitar line beneath a mix of string and piano all combine to create something that would have been at home fifteen years prior. It’s upbeat, as is the following song The Crowd Was Singing Wonderwall, which ironically also calls back to the past, this time lyrically as well as instrumentally. Scars Align is a genuinely lovely tune, both upbeat and affirming, and the title track goes back to Danny’s rapping but in a more pleasing way, on a song that is more low-key.
After We’re Gone sends the band into Jungle territory, with a fast pace and a drum break after the first chorus that makes you forget who you’re listening to. Living Our Life Without Me is the first all-out ballad, complete with a pretty piano progression and basic backing strings, while I’m 100 Different People plays with the idea of people having multiple personalities and frames it as a plead for the person they’re will to stay. It’s lack-lustre, but Danny gets his point across. Years and Alive breeze by, while Grow Old with Grace talks about exactly what it says it does over a light and airy backing track. Closer One Team for Life returns to the mid-tempo upbeat tunes and ends with a flourish of synths and strings.
Fans of The Script will be happy to have another collection of cookie-cutter pop tunes wrapped in a mix of throwback instrumentals and dance-flavoured beats, but there’s nothing new here to entice new listeners in. It’s undeniable that Danny and Co. know how to write a good hook, and there are enough decent cuts for people to choose from. This certainly isn’t for everyone, but it’s a solid collection of pop songs nonetheless.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
