Bury the Hatchet
(Island Records)
By Dave Chua
When"Linger"was released in the early '90s, it quickly swept the U.S. charts and announced the arrival of a band that seemed destined for greatness. However, the Cranberries followed the hit album"Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?"with two lackluster efforts, culminating in the awful"To The Faithful Departed"which adopted a pretentious hard-rock poise. The biggest problem with"Faithful"is that it discarded the band's strongest attraction -- the ethereal quality of Dolores O'Riordan's singing which had fitted in so well with the dream-pop terrain of"Linger"and"Dreams."Now with the release of the band's latest album, can Cranberries fans proudly put on their"I Love Dolores"caps again? Well, the answer is a mild"yes."Despite the album's worrisome cover (you'd think Cranberries are about to transform into Pink Floyd!), the band does manage to put up a credible show by returning to their strengths and abandoning their posturing. The Cranberries forte has always been simple lyrics anchored by Dolores O'Riordan's powerful singing vocals and backed by jangling melodies. While producer Benedict Fenner managed to adhere to that principle, the lyrics truly could do with some rewriting. (A glaring example:"I hope that you're sorry/for not accepting me/for not adoring me/That's why I'm not your wife.")The more laudable tracks on the album are the Smiths-like"Saving Andy,"the delicate"Dying In The Sun,"and the scorching"Delilah"where O'Riordan lets her strong vocals fly. There's some radio fodder in"Animal Instinct"and the surefire but methodical"Promises."Despite a rotten apple in the shape of"Copycat,"the album on the whole is a step in the right direction for the Cranberries."Bury the Hatchet"probably won't be remembered as a landmark album in their career, but at least it shows that the band's music has stopped turning sour.
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