The Songs You've Never Heard is the first 'booksical' that I have come across. A "mixed media form of storytelling invented in the early 21st century", 'booksicals' are books that feature an intertwined soundtrack that plays an integral part in the book's feeling and general narrative. The Songs You've Never Heard is a young adult novel that champions sisterhood, musical talent, and body positivity. The album that accompanies the book rotates the point of view between three of the book's main characters; the protagonists of this story, Meg, Alana, and Caspar are portrayed musically through the vocal performances of Becky Jerams, Megan Tuck, and Cathal Murphy respectively. If you like the idea of Ellie Goulding singing you an audiobook, you might want to check out the track 'Scripts'.
Clean-cut, varied, and powerful vocals bolster the emotional story that 'Scripts' tells, backed both by classic piano chords and an upbeat electronic production that anchors the song in its positivity and optimistic feel. The overall feel is adjacent to what I imagine a musical, like Frozen, would sound like if written, produced, and performed by Taylor Swift. The lyricism calls out the lack of authenticity in the media we consume, outing written scripts for lacking the grit that we experience in our lives.
The Songs You've Never Heard is a joint venture of Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt. Jerams is a young adult author and musician from Portsmouth, UK. Jerams worked to establish herself in the music industry; she now has songs featured in movies and advertisements and works with K-Pop girl-group Red Velvet. Having written a novel and posting it online, Jerams found a new dream to chase after receiving significant praise and support for the project. Ellie Wyatt is a BAFTA winning children's musician from Brighton, UK. A long-established lover of books as well music, Ellie has continued to pair her passions together in this latest project.
Written By George McSherry
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