Wiki
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Release Date
31 August 2017
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Length
14 tracks
Freedom Child is the fifth studio album by Irish pop rock band The Script. It was released September 1st, 2017 by Columbia & Sony. Marking a departure in sound, the band experiments with dance-pop, rnb and reggae throughout the record.
Speaking about how pop music has turned out since The Script went on a hiatus after their last album No Sound Without Silence (2014), Danny O’Donoghue said "If you take a listen to radio now, there aren’t too many bands - guitar, bass, drums, vocals. Everyone has some kind of production element." The album was announced as members of the band took time out with their families in Ireland after four studio albums since 2008.
"Rain" was released as the lead single from the album on July 14th, 2017, their first song in 3 years. Followed by "Arms Open" on November 13th of the same year.
Explaining how the album title was decided, O'Donoghue said "It came from Mark's side… His seven-year-old came up to him one day and asked, 'Dad, what's terrorism?'" The album title was inspired by its song of the same name, which addresses terrorism and the need for harmony. He also mentioned how the album covers many topics.
"Divided States of America", a song on the album was explained by O’Donoghue, who said "We were in America when Trump's inauguration was happening, and you couldn’t walk down the street without seeing how divided America was. The guy selling cigarettes could be a Democrat and the guy he's selling them to could be a Trump supporter."
Freedom Child saw a polarized reaction from critics and fans. Matt Collar of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating that the album "is a vibrant, immediately engaging effort that finds them nicely balancing their various influences, from slick dance-pop to kinetic R&B and thoughtful, crowd-pleasing anthems." Eleanor of Live Arena also gave the album a positive review but with no score, stating that "the group's confident new sound, that strays away from the rock feel we're used to, strikes listeners with positivity and strength. It's worth a listen." Taelor Connell of The O'Colly, gave another positive review with no score, stating that "The Script's new sound combined with their strong message strike listeners with force."
The album has had several negative reviews, including from Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times, who stated that "it's too long, but more importantly, it's emotionally hollow." Rick Pearson of London Evening Standard also gave the album a negative review, and said that "Truly, the road to musical hell is paved with good intentions." Grace Weissend of The Observer (Notre Dame), said that "with no real breakout song and an album that altogether disappoints, it's unlikely that The Script will be adding this record to their hall of fame." Stephen White of The Last Mixed Tape gave the album a score of 2 out of 10, calling the album "an advert that will top the charts".
The album reached the summit of the charts in Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom. It also peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. The record was eventually certified Gold in the UK for 100,000 copies sold.
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