The Cranberries Roll Again

The group is still very up front about its 1970’s punk influences. But there are lots of other, more subtle flavors in the mix as well. Their show swings from sweet romantic melodies like “Linger” to hard-edge, droning rockers like “Zombie,” all the while building an effect that seemed more than the sum of its parts. After years of playing big halls, the Cranberries know how to keep the crowd happy with sing-alongs and “helooo New York” shouts. But embedded in the catchy melodies and hooks, it was, as always, impossible to mix the feeling of pain and personal longing that infuses their songs. Unlike many of the indie groups one hears today, the Cranberries wear their emotions on their sleeves with any hint of self-pity.

Front woman Dolores O’Riordan still sounds great. Belting out two hours worth of songs, she seemed to gain strength as the night wore on. She’s got a great knack for taking the rough yelps and full octave vocal cracks that trace back to Yoko One and Patti Smith and make them fit into both rough edged and very melodic tunes. At times, there also seems to be a subtle influence of the old Irish sean nos style in there as well.

At age 38, after stepping back from the rock and roll life to have three children, O’Riordan remains an extremely effective sex symbol, albeit a pretty eccentric one. Alternately waving her arms around like a mad scientist, shaking her rather attractive butt at the audience and then talking about how much she loves her kids, she keeps you on board every minute, but always just a bit off balance. Overall, a Cranberries show tends to make you feel you’ve stumbled into some beat up loft where a bunch of young musicians are trying out some fairly crazy stuff. It’s a wonderful thing that most bands have lost by the time they reach this level. All along you know they’ll finish the show with “Dreams,” but somehow the sense of unpredictability remains alive.

The Cranberries will be touring in the U.S., Europe and South America well into next spring. Get tour information here