http://extreme-java.blogspot.com

I really don’t see anything in this example that cannot be done easily with Maven.
You stated :

[...]but I expect my build script to look more like … well, a script.”

You pointed it, it’s not a script, it’s a Project Object Model, a definition of your project, telling what’s your project structure, what are the dependencies, what is your SCM, who are the programmers, …
And if you really don’t like XML for this kind of stuff, as I do actually, you can also use Polyglot Maven and write it in Groovy, for example.

I’m not saying that Maven is a panacea but I often see too many people struggling with it and bashing it – I don’t say that you do it either – but the truth is that most people don’t get the ideas which Maven is based on. Maven is clearly not only a building tool, it’s a project management tool.