THE CRANBERRIES: In The End (POP,Rock): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

band life is sometimes cruel. It is the image of life quite simply with its joys, wounds and tragedies. A little over a year ago now, Dolores O'Riordan left us under sad circumstances, leaving behind not only children, family but also friends, including her musical companions. In the course of 2017, compositions had been written on tour, whose vocal parts Dolores had recorded for what was to be the future album of the Cranberries. After the drama, what to do with this album? To finish it by taking the risk of being accused of opportunism, or to leave it aside, perhaps even if it means going against the will of Dolores who would have liked it to come out.

In the end, the other members of the band, with the consent of his family, decided to go to the end of the artistic process and bring the final musical facing that will dress Dolores' voice. It must be said that the Cranberries could not leave like that so much the group represents a part of the history of alternative rock and one of the symbols of a time when the civil war in Ireland was beginning to show a still fragile outcome. The band was not just a witness to this troubled period with titles such as 'Zombie' but artistically represented both the strength and fragility of its flagship singer (we remember the delicate 'Ode to My Family' or 'Linger').

It was not Dolores' death that ended the Cranberries' career, but a new album, "In The End". The cover is all symbolic with the combo represented by carefree children, candid in front of a ruined world, a garbage dump. Should we keep this part of candor for artists in the face of a world that is ultimately nothing more than destruction, hatred and violence? It must be said that the singer has not been spared during her personal life and found in music a way to express her sufferings and perhaps to alleviate them a little. This album will not make this catharsis lie because it appears to be the most personal, the most carnal of the singer.

The titles as well as the lyrics are almost premonitory, as if this tragic event had been anticipated ('Lost','Wake Me Up When Is Over','The Pressure' and of course'In The End'). And yet, like a counterbalance to sadness, he starts on a rather playful track, "All Over Now", which flooded the radio waves of this beginning of the year with its freshness. The nostalgia is evident in the lyrics with the "do you remember..." which runs through a chorus tailored for the scene. However, the spleen quickly returns with a disturbing and desperate "Lost" thanks to the interpretation that already inhabited Dolores at the time of the demos. We must acknowledge all the work done by the brothers Hogan and Fergal Lawler to bring to the singing lines an envelope that perfectly matches the atmosphere recorded by Dolores. There is a deep respect and an authentic approach as in the diaphanous beauty of the acoustics of 'A Place I Know', very soothing.

One of the most beautiful titles remains 'Catch Me If You Can' in which Dolores shows that her voice had a very particular and singular timbre, a jewel in a string case with a well thought-out writing. The band was able to keep its DNA and not make a tearful album full of pathos. He kept it as in the titles "Got It" or "Illusion" which could perfectly have found their place in the album "Every Else Is Doing It, So Whay Can't We?". This alternation of tracks ends with a 'In The End' full of meaning, and the fan may not be able to retain his emotion on what will be the last track of the Cranberries' latest album.

If in the end, "In The End" is not the best Irish album, it is undeniably the most moving to have been composed but also to listen to. We can only bow to all the work done by the remaining members to offer their fans a last lap. Above all, through this testimony they paid a worthy tribute to Dolores O' Riordan with a sincere, profound and arranged record as rarely they had done. Thank you for everything, The Cranberries! Paradise is fortunate to be able to listen to Dolores' angelic voice, we are now orphans: so far away, so close! - Official website

THE CRANBERRIES

IN THE END

BMG

POP