I started to lose contact with what The Cranberries were producing after 1994's "No Need to Argue". I always thought that their first two albums were refreshing additions to my cd collection. Dolores O'Riordan's pure Irish voice blended in well with an agressive rock unit. Dramatic at times, the band could churn out wonderful softer songs, such as "Linger" and "Dreams". The few other reviews I read about "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" hinted that the band has gone back the melodic sound of their earlier releases. After a few listens to their new release, I'm very happy that they did.
The first single and video, "Analyze", is a great choice the gain attention to this cd. Deep and disturbing drums, courtesy of Fergal Lawler, introduces the song, but it soon turns into a positive and sunny melody. With plenty of multi-layered guitars and O'Riordan's high-pitched Irish vocals, this could easily rank as one of the better singles to be released. The title track is one of the more varied tracks off the new release. The Cranberries are often criticized for having too many tracks on their releases that sound similar. They do have such a unique sound that it's easy to fall into this trap at times. But on the track "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee", the grunge guitar from Noel Hogan and echoed drumming help to give this track some urgency with a punk attitude. It's only fitting that this song would blend directly into the soft and sweet "Pretty Eyes". The melodic electric piano helps to give the song a "lullabye" feel. Where the majority of songs here take on a positive note, "Dying Inside" deals with the abuse of a childhood friend. "It was a terrible thing to see her dying... inside". The simple arrangement and jangly guitar lines gives the tune a meloncholy effect. "Dying Inside" and "Chocolate Brown" are two songs that the group was working on for some time. They finally got the sound and arrangement that they wanted for this release, and they are both welcome additions. "Chocolate Brown" is another simply arranged song. Acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine, and piano are the only instruments featured. The mark of a good songwriter is the ability to add minimal instrumentation and still have the true power of the song come through. O'Riordan's voice always comes through as the most powerful instrument in The Cranberries sound.
It will be good for commercial radio to have an accesible song like "Analyze" on it's playlist. The Cranberries cross that line well. They're progressive rock with touches of punk and traditional Irish folk. But they can also be a refreshing change to top 40 radio for an audience that is growing tired of Britney and N'Sync. This isn't a bad position for this band to be in.
