CD Reviews

The Cranberries | Roses

Downtown (2012)

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 13, 2012

2.5 Stars

As a gift, roses are generic. They don't require much thought, are widely available, and show little effort other than acknowledging a Hallmark holiday or admitting to a fuck-up. It's fitting, then, that this would be the title of the Cranberries' first effort in more than a decade. People who like the Irish act "Zombie"-style should stick with No Need To Argue. This affair is strictly for those who "Linger." There's zero heaviness, and nothing wrong with that: an album of hushed tones simmering with restraint can be brilliant — if there is lyrical substance. Frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan is in fine "moon in June" form; check out the middle-school prose of "It's raining in my heart/Every time we are apart" (from . . . "Raining in My Heart"). Tracks like "Conduct" and "So Good" show promise, mainly because they recall the earliest days of the Berries' juicy offerings. But the bulk of Roses is like a spring day in the first week of May — not exactly shocking, but sunny and warm. Aside from the lyrical felonies, this is the perfect music to take a nap to on one of those afternoons.

Snow Patrol | Fallen Empires
Word on the street had Snow Patrol looking to change up the big anthem sound for their sixth release.
Review: Dogtooth
Home schooling takes a hit in Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos's bizarre, chilling parable.
Michael Patrick MacDonald writes the Dropkicks' backstory
Who is Cornelius Larkin, and how did his obituary come to be on the cover of the new Dropkick Murphys disc, Going Out in Style ?
Review: An émigré's struggle with his baggage, in AIRE's Brendan
America, enthuses Irish émigré Brendan (Michael Dix Thomas), is the smell of coffee and gasoline.
Drinking with family
When I moved from Cambridge to Southie five years ago, the quality of my barroom conversations immediately skyrocketed.
Review: Jig
Sue Bourne's documentary about Irish stepdancing in general and the 2010 Irish Dance World Championships in particular treads a formulaic path.
Little Dragon | Ritual Union
On Ritual Union, the third full-length from these mechanical soul weirdos, Little Dragon have managed to get way catchier and also a great deal stranger.
Assaf Kehati Quartet | Flowers and Other Stories
The Boston-based Israeli guitarist Assaf Kehati and his quartet know how to straddle the great divide.
The Big Hurt: Pablo Dylan's 10 Minutes
Bob Dylan's 16-year-old grandson, Pablo Dylan, just dropped 10 Minutes , his first rap mixtape.
Active Child | You Are All I See
Pat Grossi used to be a choirboy, which is not surprising at all, given that his full-length debut under the Active Child moniker sounds like it was cut in some sort of dimly lit, hallowed hall under the cover of night.
Dave Mustaine's righteous path
Now sober, the ginger frontman is not only sharing a bill with Metallica, but the stage in an end-of-the-night jam to celebrate the Big Four, along with Slayer and Anthrax, and commemorating 30 years of pioneering thrash by playing select gigs around the world, including New York's Yankee Stadium next month.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Downtown, Dolores O'Riordan, Irish, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER

REX BROWN DELIVERS THE WORD ON PANTERA | March 20, 2013
“No holds barred” and “warts and all” are typical qualifiers when it comes to rock-and-roll memoirs, but rarely do they fulfill the promise.

PHOTOS: DEVOTCHKA AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES | March 13, 2013
DeVotchKa performs live at the House of Blues on March 9, 2013.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? ALT-J | February 26, 2013
Bands that have taken home the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize in the past have included Suede, Pulp, Primal Scream, and Arctic Monkeys.

SHOUT OUT LOUDS | OPTICA | February 26, 2013
Stockholm's Shout Out Louds have always been a curious but consistent act.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? CAVEMAN | February 20, 2013
Most people are probably sick to death of Brooklyn being a hipster's paradise where dinks with moustaches tatted on their fingers drive fixed-gear bikes to Williamsburg bars to pay $6.50 for a can of PBR.