Amazon.co.uk Review
Do they mean, between the band and their listeners? Because let's face it, there's clearly a lot of ill-feeling there: the latter having initially embraced the former as a pop band for adults--on their lush, plaintive, somewhat studied debut--only to have them metamorphose, on that appalling third album (1996's
To The Faithful Departed), into a kind of overblown protest act, with singer Delores O'Riordan wailing over the top like some self-proclaimed arbiter of all things noble, right and just. Not a good move. So this, their fourth release, sees them tone down the self-importance, turn down the distortion and return to the shimmering guitar-pop of "Linger." Admittedly, it's not all smooth sailing: O'Riordan's lyrics can still provoke unintentional chuckles. (The album's opening lines, in particular--"Suddenly something has happened to me while I was having my cup of tea / Suddenly I was feeling depressed. I was utterly and totally stressed"--are enough to make one's eyes water.) And the arrangements are once again overly-indebted to
The Smiths. But a discernible return to form, nevertheless.
--Andrew McGuire
Description
Though Ireland's Cranberries began by churning out sparkling, breathy rock-pop, they soon ventured into a darker, heavier brand of rock that reflected the sociopolitical strife oftheir homeland. On BURY THE HATCHET the band achieves the perfect marriage between luxurious pop stylings and a darker,more unsettling vision. Dolores O'Riordan's strong, clear voice rides smoothly over simple, engaging melodies fleshed out by a chiming blend of acoustic and electric guitars for much of the album. But on songs like "Promises", the guitars get heavier, and the mood turns darker, showing a deeper side of the Cranberries' work. No matter the darkness expressedin the lyrics though, the invigorating, upbeat strum and crack of the guitars and drums keeps things moving at a good clip. And that occasional catch in O'Riordan's voice is just arresting enough to draw you in, without ever seeming like an affectation or a distraction.