There is nothing more refreshing than buying a new album from a favorite band — especially when the result exceeds expectations.

Such is the case for The Script’s second studio album, Science & Faith. The bright, energetic album, released Jan. 18, brings a beautiful sound to The Script’s repertoire.

Although iTunes labels this album as pop, its sound suggests a much different nature. The Script seemed to pick beautiful notes in every song to create a light sound with a full rock band — an oxymoronic yet impressive achievement.

In its previous album, entitled The Script, the Irish group touched on this sound in a few songs, but mostly withheld a more rough style. A few songs bring back definite traces of this, but the ultimate style shift is an upgrade to a band that I already liked.

Listening to the album all the way through for the first time, each song was making me say, “This is my favorite so far!” Every song is upbeat, catchy and seems like something I could listen to over and over. The first notes in the opening song, “You Won’t Feel a Thing,” set the theme for the entire album with fresh notes.

Science & Faith maintains The Script’s sound that I fell in love with, but introduces a new element of creativity, showing how the band has matured since its last release.

Songs like “Dead Man Walking” have brief moments of lead Danny O’Donoghue speaking lyrics, like The Script does. Although I generally prefer vocalists to stick with singing, O’Donoghue’s rough yet soft voice transforms the style into a likable technique.

Unfortunately, the talking shifts into rap every so often, which does not suit my taste. “Walk Away” is included twice on the album — one version features rap artist B.o.B, and the other leaves O’Donoghue to the near-rap style. I prefer O’Donoghue’s version simply because his way of presenting the lyrics is more appealing to me, but the addition of B.o.B is sure to be popular with many.

When O’Donoghue does his quasi-rap in songs such as in “This = Love,” it does not repel me from the song in question. Every other bit is appealing, so the 30 seconds or so of rap are bearable. Furthermore, O’Donoghue executes it well, so my complaints are left at a minimum.

“This = Love” is a song which especially stands out to me for its lyrics. It combines a beautiful tune with beautiful words, describing all of the places where love lies: “It’s in the eyes of the children, as they leave for the very first time / And it’s in the heart of the soldier, as he takes a bullet on the front line / It’s in the face of a mother, as she takes the force of the blow /And it’s in the hands of the father, yeah, as he works his fingers to the bone, yeah.”

Soon after, O’Donoghue continues with the chorus, desperately expressing what love represents: “Love is why we do it, love is worth the pain / Love is why we fall down, and get back up again / Love is where the heart lies, love is from above / Love is this, this is love.”

The Script finds a clever way to write a love song, and on Science & Faith, “This = Love” fills that role. Instead of writing a clich