Plenty of Engrossing Surprises
Following up single, 'Ordinary Day', which had an instant pop feel tinged with electronic ecstasy that cast Dolores in the same beautiful pop meets rock mould as The Corrs. 'Are You Listening?' brings us plenty of other sides of this great performer. Dolores' vocals alone stretch from the yelping vigour seen on, 'When We Were Young' to the sweetness of folk tune, 'Human Spirit' with entrancing pipes for extra integrity.
The tunes are thoroughly engaging with plenty of grungy guitars rocking out and a real drive behind them which many singer/songwriters lack, preferring to focus on their vocals above the overall instrumentation of the track. Perhaps this complete feeling comes from the fact the album is produced by Youth who has worked with U2, The Verve and Embrace amongst others and is famed for creating rich sonic structures. With each tune easily outlasting the standard pop song length of 3 minutes, Dolores' creativity is instantly impressive as layers of instruments slide easily over each other to form dreamy unions.
'In The Garden' is an awesome blend of skittering electronics and metallic percussion building to a feverish peak with harsh guitar riffs and howling vocals that wouldn't be out of place on an Evanescence record. This little Cranberry has certainly grown! My only criticism is that the staggering guitar riffs sound a little robotic and contrived, but this a fantastic tune. Also a little bit gothic, 'Black Widow', which was written about Dolores' mother-in-law's battle with cancer, is a quivering tune that's a bit terrifying even before you know the context. The piano hypnotises you while the soft vocals wrap you in their balmy peace and soon it's too late to escape as the crunching guitars loom above you.
There are some mediocre numbers, the mellow indie tune, 'Loser' for example, it's pleasant enough but falls by the wayside when sandwiched between the enchanting 'Human Spirit' and haunting, 'Stay With Me', which explodes into another gritty chorus in no time. 'Apple Of My Eye' is a little too gooey for most with its shimmering string arrangements and enthralled vocals, which seem to melt with joy. 'Angel Fire' is a good, hearty pop song with plenty of passion, nothing wrong with that, especially when it's this inspiring.
Dolores O'Riordan's solo work is definitely work a listen, there are some real showstoppers in amongst the lilting indie numbers that might be expected from the former Cranberries singer.