The Cranberries

Dolores O'Riordan Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Mike Hogan Bass
Noel Hogan Acoustic & Electric Guitar
Fergal Lawler Drums, Percussion

Track Listing

1. Animal Instinct
2. Loud And Clear
3. Promises
4. You And Me
5. Just My Imagination
6. Shattered
7. Desperate Andy
8. Saving Grace
9. Copycat
10. What's On My Mind
11. Delilah
12. Fee Fi Fo
13. Dying In The Sun

The Tracks, Highlighted Lines And My Observation

1. Animal Instinct

"So take my hands and come with me
We will change reality"
This is a catchy opening track with good guitar strums for the intro. This is meditative light-rock song that showcases Dolores' powerful vocal talent.
When I listen to this song, I can't help but realize the reality of life. No matter what walk of life we are in, there is always that animal instinct in us to protect the ones that we love whether consciously or unconsciously.

2. Loud And Clear

"I hope that you never
Get the things you wanted to
Now I cast a spell on you"
This track has a 'relationship' theme with a fast-rock beat. The good use of synthesized horn is noticeable in this track.
I can feel the the anger and hatred emphasized by Dolores in this song. Rejection always leaves pain to a person and she demonstrated it well in this song. I love how she puts on the lyrics. So smart.

3. Promises

"Maybe we should burn the house down
Have ourselves another fight"
This song talks about frustration with the lack of human commitment. Dolores shows off her vocal strength in this track. This one has a heavy-rock beat. I like how she gives justice to this song's theme of rage and anger through her soaring vocals.
This is one of my favorite tracks in this album. It's the kind that I'd love to sing when I am mad at a person for not being sincere. The melody is amazingly great. The heavy

rock beat gives enough justice to the emotions conveyed by this song. When i play this song, I turn the volume of my speakers full-blast and I'd sing along and rock to the beat of this song just like a gypsy.

4. You And Me

"I don't pay attention to the ones who never cared
Find your own direction 'cos there's sweetness in the air"
This is a very positive song with the theme of 'loving forever'. This has a good display of trumpet and horn talents matched with nice vocal harmonies. I find this song heartwarming as it is obvious that Dolores dedicates this song to her son Taylor as the line "Taylor. Taylor, Taylor" appears in background vocals.
I appreciate the sincerity of this song. It is simply passionate. I can feel the overwhelming love of Dolores for her son. Lyrically, I think this is the track that stands out over the other songs though this is not as deep as her songs in her previous albums such as the song Ode To My Family. I still love the lyrics of this track.

5. Just My Imagination

"The game I used to play
I've always put my cards upon the table"
This track has a rock beat with a 'fairy tale' theme. The has a solid Cranberries sound. I like how synthesizers get along well with the pop melodies of this song.

6. Shattered

"I'm trying to control myself
So please don't stand in my way"
This track talks about the real 'woman' within who wanted to get out and find the real happiness that she wanted. This is a very laid-back song with the acoustic guitar taking the musical lead.

7. Desperate Andy

"He always holds on to his girlfriend
That's where he likes to be
He like to wear the ball and the chain on his neck"
This is a repetitive song with the theme of 'crazy love'. This has a good beat though and Dolores sounds good with her vocal effects.

8. Saving Grace

"You're the little thing,
my saving grace. You're just a little thing,"
This another positive song that Dolores dedicates to her son, and another repetitive song. Sometimes I wonder if Dolores runs out of words to write in a song. This has good melody though.

9. Copycat

"I've got a great idea
I will change things on my own"
This song talks about uniformity trend in the society and she wants to dare to be different. The lyrics are good.

10. What's On My Mind

"Baby I would do anything for you
Nobody's ever treated me quite like you do"
This is a love song with a good guitar rendition.The good combination of instruments is notable in this track.

11. Delilah

"Stay away from me
Just stay away from my house"
Cranberries went a bit heavy metal in this song. This is the most unusual surprising track in this album. Dolores goes louder and she still sounds good. I think this is actually not the typical song that the Cranberries' fans would expect to hear. Dolores' voice sounds quite different. She goes hard rock on this song but I like the change of vocal moods.

12. Fee Fi Fo

"How could you touch something
So innocent and pure"
This is a very bold song with a strong message. This track talks about condemnation of sexual abuse of children though the title sounds like a 'child's play'. I like the feel of passion on Dolores' voice while singing this song. She delivers well the horrors and anxiety of abused children on this song.
Upon reading the title, I thought this track was a cheerful one. But when I listened to the song, chills ran down my spine as I heard Dolores boldly condemned a child molester. Her voice seems to be chilling as she sang this song. This is the bravest song that I have ever heard though I think some will prefer not to hear this one due to the very gutsy lyrics. It's about sexual abuse on children put in a song that some would find it too gross to grasp.
But Dolores just talks about painful real-life issue here and sometimes, reality bites.

13. Dying In The Sun

"Will you hold on to me
I am feeling frail"
Good use of piano is noticeable in this track with occasional use of synthesizers. I like how Dolores sound simply gorgeous with her excellent vocals that softly plays over the piano. What a wonderful lullaby!
I sure love vocals, the melody and the instrumentation of this track. It's just the lyrics that lacks the feel. If only Dolores added some more of her ingenious writing skills in this song, this could have been an excellent track for me.

The Explicit(?) Cover

The cover of this album is so simple yet very intriguing. A totally-naked man is 'shying away' and is trying to hide from the stare of big eye that may resemble God or the society where he belongs.
At the back cover, no text is written. The naked man is now facing the big eye with clinched fists and it seems to me that he shouts at the big eye, as if fighting back at it.
This is the strangest cover of an album that I have ever seen yet. It may look explicit to many, but I seem to like the message revealed by front and back cover.

Recommendation

If you are a Cranberries' fan, this is a good album to add to your collection but expect to hear something different from Cranberries. Of course you can forgive the little change in the depth of the lyrics.
If you are not a Cranberries' fan, having this album will make you know Cranberries, their music and the message the band tries to convey. Cranberries' songs talk about real issues in life.

If you prefer a certain genre of music: Cranberries' album crosses different genres of music so you can pick a song that you would surely love.

If you hate Cranberries: Dolores has relaxed her vocals in this album. Get to know their songs a little bit deeper and you'll learn to like Cranberries.

If Bury The Hatch is your first Cranberries' album: Explore their previous CD's. You'll be surprised how Dolores wrote excellent songs in the past.

My Critical Observation And Opinion

I have actually heard all of Cranberries' songs. I even occasionally sing their previous album's song 'Ode To My Family' and I shamelessly get up the stage of sing-along bars and sing 'Zombie' when I get a little tipsy. However, the tracks of this album contains the 'different' Cranberries and the change surprised me.

The lyrics of most songs of this album leave listeners with hanging ideas as Cranberries try to leave abstract messages on most of the songs. Dolores was good in writing thought-provoking songs as heard in her previous albums. But it seems that she has lost the spark lyrically in Bury The Hatchet. I hear a different Dolores O'Riordan in this album.

I noticed that Dolores goes more relaxed vocally in this album. For some who don't know, Dolores has a sad childhood history and she clearly conveyed her painful message on her past albums. Then she got married, had stress-induced illness, divorced, and finally has a lovely kid and she felt the happiness she never felt before. The feelings mixed up. Her extreme change of feelings is maybe the reason why she just somewhat 'lost' the focus and the excellent writing skills. In my opinion, her happiness simply kills her creativity.

However, I guarantee that Dolores still doesn't lost the 'voice' though she sounds a bit relaxed. She still sings excellently with the voice that is completely her own. I definitely love how Dolores plays and experiments with her vocals in various ways though I feel that 'Burying the hatchet' might mean 'burying her writing skills'. Dolores better dig the creativity up.

I say it in advance: If you haven't heard of Cranberries' songs before, this album needs a couple of play-throughs to really appreciate the songs.

This album contains both strong and weak songs. It has good rendition of instruments and awesome vocals of Dolores though the lyrics are not as great as their previous albums but are considerably good. Vocally, Dolores delivers so much passion in her songs that if she sings a song with a theme of love, I would like to close my eyes and feel the sentiments of her soul; And If she sings a song with the theme of 'anger', I would rather get out of the way of the angry woman who sings.