Cranberries - Roses Review

Although it’s been more than 10 years since The Cranberries’ last studio album, the band’s 2012 crop, Roses, simply picks up the melodic strains of yesteryear and carries on. The reformed quartet continues to showcase the distinctive Gaelic lilt of vocalist Dolores O’Riordan over chiming guitars, silken strings, and military rhythms. With longstanding producer Stephen Street at the helm, the overall effect is pretty seamless. There’s a sense of mutual respect that shines through the tight ensemble playing. The record shows a certain growth and maturity, but if you were hoping for a sharp left turn in musical direction, you won’t find it here.

Roses beds in quickly with arguably the two strongest cuts up first. “Conduct” is a compelling starter, developing an argument for saving a relationship as sentiments move from a position of “Now it’s too late, I can see that we should not be together” to that of “When we get along, we’re really strong.” The battle tone is neatly set by martial drums in the opening instrumental build and resolved through a progressive melody colored by O’Riordan’s assertive vocal. It’s followed by an equally classic Cranberries cut in the shape of “Tomorrow,” an older and wiser call to cast angst aside and seize the day. Its breezy melody is decorated with crisp guitar picking, and busy percussion finds O’Riordan in that smooth, effortless gear of hers....full text The Cranberries’ most memorable song from the ’90s is the politically charged single “Zombie,” with its smoldering immediacy and Dolores O’Riordan’s biting vocals. The rest of the Irish group’s output (including the higher-charting “Linger”) was pleasant but not particularly enduring, featuring mellow alterna-pop tunes and dreamy vocal melodies. Roses, the group’s first studio album since 2001, follows the same formula, picking up sonically right where the group left off. O’Riordan’s fiery wail gives an urgency to “Schizophrenic Playboy,” but it’s the only song on the album with any kind of drive. The rest of Roses is lilting folk-pop that struggles to make a lasting impression, and tunes like the cooing “Fire & Soul” and delicate, childlike “Losing My Mind” flounder with a thin, insubstantial sound. Missteps such as the cabaret whisper of “Waiting In Walthamstow” and the clumsy, diary-style lyrics of “Raining In My Heart” sound like the Cranberries still shaking off the rust of a decade-long hiatus....full text First off, a little back-story on the sixth Cranberries’ album and their first since 2001’s Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: after their 2002 greatest hits tour, the band reconvened in the studio with their longtime producer, Stephen Street and proceeded to begin work on some new material. After a few months work, they decided to take a break to pursue separate projects. But six months turned into eight years. Then in late 2009, they came back together and restarted work on several of the 2003 tracks. The result is the 11 tracks contained on the new album and boy, are some of them breathtaking.

Overall, this is shaping up to be one of the most amazing albums of the year and will definitely not disappoint any hardcore Cranberries fans and may help them pick up some new converts along the way....full text The Cranberries had went on a hiatus in 2003 after a 13 year career that included the release of five studio albums. Their two best known songs were probably "Linger" and "Zombie". Though their strongest success was earlier in their career, specifically their first two albums, they continued to be a presence throughout the 90's and into the early 2000's. Personally, for myself, they were a part of the musical background of my teenage years. In 2009 the hiatus ended in what initially was going to be only a reunion tour of North America and Europe. Dolores O'Riordan recorded two solo albums during the hiatus, "Are You Listening?" and "No Baggage". When The Cranberries ended their hiatus, shortly after Dolores was made an honorary patron of University Philosophical Society, they initially toured only playing older songs and some of Dolores's solo compositions. Soon after they began writing the material that would appear on the album. The group entered the studio in April of 2011, and completed recording their new album in May of 2011, the entire recording process taking just under a month. The album includes 11 tracks and clocks in at just under 45 minutes.

The songs on "Roses" tend to be on the lighter side with a lot of sweet vocal melodies and clean instrumentation. You do hear a little bit of light orchestral accompaniment on a few of the songs, as well. There is a fair amount of acoustic guitar on the album. The overall feeling I get from listening to the album is a kind of relaxed awareness. ...full text