One of the things this album gets right is variety. Every track feels unique with a number of different techniques used musically. I believe this is a very important aspect in keeping the listener engaged. It bothers me when an entire album feels like just one song being played on loop. Essentially Are You Listening is a throwback to O'Riordan's earlier days with the Cranberries, having the same overall feeling and atmosphere.
In The Garden, the first single on the album, is by a head-and-a-half the worst single on the album. Its attempt to bring elements of hard rock and metal into the formula just doesn't work, and is almost cringe-worthy. O'Riordan's vocals aren't the problem; we have seen her do this kind of thing before and succeed. Most notably the critically acclaimed single, Zombie, back in 1994. It is a very interesting release, because the verses stick to her normal formula (which I actually prefer), but the chorus just breaks into this hard rock style that seems completely just out of place with what O'Riordan is known for.
Human Spirit on the other hand, is a fantastic alt rock single, with an interesting melodic feeling to it and an great twist on the type of music she has already demonstrated to us. Really, if you are a fan of alt rock, than this is a standard track; it follows the typical alt rock formula very closely, the only thing different is its melodic spin. Regardless, the vocals and atmosphere of the single makes it a joy to listen to. And is by far my personal favorite track.
Talk about a melodically classical tune: the final single, Black Widow, is unlike anything that O'Riordan has performed before. And that can be a pro or a con, because it becomes even more of an acquired taste than before. The progression of this song is very fascinating to watch, it begins as a very eerie track using many classical strings and grand piano, and later adds a distorted guitar into the mix, giving it more of a hard rock feel for a bit before ending the same way it began. The writing is strong from a critical stand point and in addition the vocals and lyrical content is as well, but the overall sound of the track can be hard to listen too. Which will probably turn away a number of listeners. Nevertheless, it is a strong track and a welcome change of style from the older work.
Honestly, the filler tracks this time are generally more of the same sorts of things we have seen during her career with The Cranberries. Adult Alternative Rock styles that simply make old fans happy. The best example of this is probably the first track on the album Ordinary Day, which is such a return to a formula that one could be forgiven for mistaking it for a Cranberry track.
In conclusion, this is a solid effort from O'Riordan. It's not superior to Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? But it's a good solo effort that returns to the standard Cranberries formula while adding many melodic elements to the tracks. When comparing this album to the later Cranberry ones it stands on par with them, rather then surpassing their previous work. As a suggestion, if you are interested in hearing Dolores O'Riordan's truly amazing voice, check out The Cranberry's early work before listening to this solid alt rock release.
In conclusion, this is a solid effort from O'Riordan. It's not superior to Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? But it's a good solo effort that returns to the standard Cranberries formula while adding many melodic elements to the tracks. When comparing this album to the later Cranberry ones it stands on par with them, rather then surpassing their previous work. As a suggestion, if you are interested in hearing Dolores O'Riordan's truly amazing voice, check out The Cranberry's early work before listening to this solid alt rock release.
FINAL VERDICT
6/10
(Decent)
I would never have guessed that you were a fan of The Cranberries. I had not really had too much of an interest in either The Cranberries or O'Riordan but you've convinced me to check them out. Your review was quite solid. There were no real issues with format or content. I am looking forward to your next review.
ReplyDeleteSo far this blog series is one of my favorites. I got really excited when I thought that you were reviewing The Cranberries - an influential band for me during university - but disappointed when it was about O'Riordan. You know your material VERY well. Embed some images, like album covers for instance. Have the links take us to the actual songs rather than only Wikipedia.
ReplyDeleteI love sitting down and listening through a whole vinyl record and truly "experiencing" the album. I like when there's a story or a reoccurring theme that helps tie the album together as well. Takes it from just being a collection of songs slapped together in any order to form an album to something so much more. Do you think that is a quality that has been lost in modern music or do you think it's maybe not done as much?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I do not really listen to contemporary music. I have a couple albums from the past decade but not enough to make a comparison. It is an interesting angle though, never thought of it that way before. But in terms of you're question, it would really depend on the artist. For example indie artists or artists who write their own music I feel would put a lot more care into them over artists who purchase their tracks.
DeleteThis was a very good blog post, you have a lot of knowledge on music and you have a very nice writing style. I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDelete