In the End, the final album by Limerick band the Cranberries arrives three decades after they first formed and just over a year after Dolores O’Riordan’s unexpected death. As a full-stop to their career, it therefore also marks something of a legacy for the singer as well as the band.
As might be expected, Dolores’ angelic and powerful voice delivers raw emotion and energy throughout their swansong - the unchanging signature of the Cranberries’ sound. The melodic tracks from In the End embrace the simplicity of familiar chord progressions, maintaining their alternative rock and pop sound with an occasional gentle nod to Irish folk music. Indeed, energetic and more melancholic tunes take turns in creating an easy to listen, yet philosophical portrait of the passing of time, love and the certainty of change. Meanwhile, the lyrics echo the flow and rhythm of nursery rhymes, with the classic Cranberries invitation to a bit of a singalong.
Even though the genesis of the album began in the spring of 2017 while the band were on tour, tracks such as “All Over Now”, “Wake Me When It’s Over” and “In the End”, appear somewhat prophetic, given subsequent events. Yet, with its overall upbeat approach, In the End does not signpost a tragedy but actually a more hopeful sound. As Dolores’ suggests in the closing track, everything can be taken away, but “you can’t take the spirit”.
The singer’s mother Eileen has said that despite the sadness of loss, the new album is the most fitting way to commemorate the anniversary of Dolores’ passing and celebrate her life. It also comes across as a tribute to the friendship and the shared path of her fellow band members Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan, Fergal Lawler – illustrating well how the four had grown together with their audience over thirty or so years.
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