Tracklist

1. Man in the Arena
2. The Crowd Was Singing Wonderwall
3. Scars Align
4. The User's Guide to Being Human
5. After We're Gone
6. Living Our Life Without Me
7. I'm 100 Different People
8. Years
9. Alive
10. Grow Old with Grace
11. One Team for Life

Thoughts

I love The Script so a new album release from them was always going to shoot straight to the top of my 'to listen' list.

This album is wonderful, completely honest and another one that feels like we're working through human relationships and grief and everything that goes with it together, holding hands and trying to understand this world. Man in the Arena kicks things off with a song reminiscent of Superheroes from previous albums, rousing spirits and soaring choruses. Meanwhile Years is the other end of the spectrum, delving into the grief that hangs over the band since Mark Sheehan's death and struggling with addiction to deal with it.

Years is less of a pop track than the rest and at that point the album has slowed down to melancholia, but it picks up again towards a more upbeat finish. The mood shifts as you move through the album, but there's no dip in quality from start to finish.

I'm giving it a top score because every song felt important, it's the kind of record that's going to continue to grow on you and really become a part of the collection.

Rating: 5 / 5