Dolores O'Riordan - No Baggage

Although The Cranberries never officially broke up but rather went on ‘indefinite hiatus’, the band’s frontwoman has since made a name for herself as a solo artist, and a couple of years after her successful debut album, Are You Listening? she’s back with a follow-up effort.

As you might expect, there are a few songs evocative of The Cranberries. Skeleton, for instance might not pack quite the same punch that Zombie did all those years ago, but is certainly of the same ilk. Elsewhere, No Baggage doesn’t offer the obvious pop gems that Are You Listening? boasted, but it does have a few interesting moments of experimentation that show musical progression, such as the Indian-sounding Throw Your Arms Around Me.

The album’s theme is one of self-reflection and worldliness from a woman who has been through a lot and has come out the other side a wiser person. Okay, so she has never been an especially challenging lyricist, but she wears her heart on her sleeve and her basic rhyming couplets do lend themselves to the honest feeling of this album. She doesn’t hide behind cryptic clues, but simply says it like it is: “Alcohol and cocaine/I think it’s driving you insane.”

From the whisper of It’s You to the big chorus of Be Careful and her frankly breathtaking delivery on the album’s best track - piano ballad Lunatic - her vocal is her instrument and she uses it perfectly. To be honest, with a voice as beautiful as hers, she could just be reciting her shopping list and it would still sound great.