On past albums, Ireland's chart-topping the Script have balanced excessively likeable emotive pop/rock with flourishes of everything from yearning R&B to indie folk. On their sixth album, 2019's Sunsets & Full Moons, they offer a fresh collection of reflective, studio-polished songs that largely stick to the pop end of the spectrum. There is definitely a slightly moodier tone here, most likely informed by the death of lead singer Danny O'Donoghue's mother, who died eight months before the album's release, informing the ...
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On past albums, Ireland's chart-topping the Script have balanced excessively likeable emotive pop/rock with flourishes of everything from yearning R&B to indie folk. On their sixth album, 2019's Sunsets & Full Moons, they offer a fresh collection of reflective, studio-polished songs that largely stick to the pop end of the spectrum. There is definitely a slightly moodier tone here, most likely informed by the death of lead singer Danny O'Donoghue's mother, who died eight months before the album's release, informing the album's tone in much the same way that the death of O'Donoghue's father affected the band's 2008 self-titled debut. Songs on Sunsets & Full Moons like the wistful "Last Time" and acoustic guitar-driven "Run Through Walls" are moving and confessional, yet full of universal appeal, like the distant cousins of hits by Imagine Dragons (whose gigantic stadium timbre the Script borrow for their crowd-friendly singalong "Underdog"). The melodies are pleasantly propulsive and the themes are straightforward. For example, O'Donoghue turns memories of a toxic relationship into an emotive, Elton John-style ballad on "The Hurt Game," and wonders if his obsession with his ex is mutual on "Same Time." Ultimately, the spotlight lands on O'Donoghue, whose warm vocals and knack for spotlighting the poignant details of heartache lend an earnestness to the Script's soft-focus anthems. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi
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