Like an ethereal summer breeze that brings back memories of a more innocent time, the return of 90's band The Cranberries brings with it a flurry of images of a time that seems to have long ago drifted into the ether without any of us realizing it.
For a stretch there, you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing singer Dolores O'Riordan's plaintive warble. This unlikely hit-bound Irish act conquered the U.S. quiote soundly with smash radio hits such as "Dreams", "Linger", and "Zombie" (our personal fave). Additionally, their first two albums, Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We? and No Need To Argue, were both certified platinum.
Of course, by third album, To The Faithful Departed, a combination of radio overkill and a formulaic approach bent on recreating past success led the band to fall out of favor quite suddenly. Subsequent albums, Bury The Hatchet (1999) and Smell The Coffee (2001) came and went with little fanfare.
Eleven years later, though, the band has reunited and recorded a new album that shows them to be firing on all cylinders again. The new album, Roses, is the album the band should have released after No Need To Argue, as it bristles with the intensity and quality of material that To The Faithful Departed sorely lacked.
The new album, Roses, comes out February 28th!