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Dolores O’Riordan
Josephine
By Andy Argyrakis
Hardly a day goes by when the Cranberries’ “Linger,” “Free To Decide,” “Zombie” and “Salvation” don’t get played on the radio, making Dolores O’Riordan’s voice a constant, even if the band’s been on hiatus since 2001. And while the Irish-outfit never officially broke up, its female front woman is certainly stretching her solo wings, turning in 2007’s Are You Listening? and the brand new No Baggage. There aren’t a whole lot of differences between both of those discs and the band from which she first found fame, though much of that has to do with her unmistakable voice. The 11 fresh tunes benefit from a Celtic-tinged alternative rock aura, recalling fellow Ireland native Sinead O’Connor, minus the unpredictable temperament. Much of No Baggage hearkens back to the Cranberries’ Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, exposing the soul of a vulnerable singer/songwriter who isn’t afraid to taunt listeners towards that same sort of emotional release.
The jarring “Skeleton” talks about all the baggage people brush under the rug from the past, suggesting it’s best to learn from yesterday rather than pretending a negative occurrence never happened. Additional wisdom comes across the hypnotic “Be Careful” and the carefree modern rocker “Switch Off the Moment,” though O’Riordan’s vocals are again the centerpiece over the tightly performed but less than landmark instrumentation. The new tunes are slightly less immediate and attention grabbing, if only because the formula’s already familiar to her international fan base. Even though she doesn’t blast out of her comfort zone, that customary craftwork is still enticing enough to capture her core audience and potentially reel in younger newcomers.
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