Remember those scenes in High Fidelity (either the novel or the film, it doesn’t matter), when record-geek Rob tracks down his top five loves of his life, and one by one, sees them with fresh eyes to lose his starry-eyed memories of each old flame? Hearing Dolores O’Riordan sing a once more is a little like that. Sure, she and her former band, The Cranberries, probably weren’t ever in your Top Five all-time bands — even back in 1995 — but who can’t hear “Zombie” without a little pang for the glory days of alt-rock?
The Cranberries’ short-lived stay as champions of the alt-rock buzz bin are fun to revisit, but O’Riordan’s solo debut, Are You Listening? is like bumping into a long-lost crush and realizing she’s not nearly as witty, sexy or intelligent as you once thought. It’s not that you mis-remembered, either: O’Riordan’s voice — that warbly tone that simultaneously shoots out of the most nasal regions of her throat and the most booming section of her gut — is as distinctive as ever. Her choice of musical direction is rarely surprising, either: It harbors a bit of a thing for the light alt-pop of her former band (”Accept Things”) and carries a torch for the ‘Berries’ hard-rockin’ middle-years slump (”Loser”). When O’Riordan whips out a few new tricks, mostly just pushing Cranberries tunes through the looking glass to play with textures and ambiences lifted from the Banshees’ eyeliner days (”Black Widow”), we’re not just left feeling it’s a gimmicky addition to the repertoire, but a last, desperate attempt to rekindle a spark by proving Ms. O’s moved on and grown up, too.
Which she has, but only minimally. As focal point for The Cranberries, O’Riordan was a solo artist in all but name. Are You Listening? just underscores that, as O’Riordan recreates and condenses the band’s output, simplifying here, expanding it there and, just like the old days, letting her vocals carry the load.
And while we may have a soft spot in our heart for O’Riordan’s signature yowl in songs like “Linger” and “Zombie,” 12 years after the fact, Are You Listening? is more of a confirmation that some things — The Cranberries included — might not be quite as great as we remembered.
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- Matt Schild |