Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - 'Are You Listening?' (2007) + 'No Baggage' (2009)

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Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - 'Are You Listening?' (2007) + 'No Baggage' (2009)

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As lead vocalist of the Cranberries, Dolores O'Riordan was one of the most visible females in early-'90s alternative rock. Born the youngest of seven children on September 6, 1971, the Limerick native grew up finding solace in music, singing from an early age as well as playing classical piano and harmonium in church. In 1990, she auditioned for a Limerick-based band named Cranberry Saw Us and received the position of lead singer, having impressed her future bandmates with her lilting vocals. The group soon changed its name to the Cranberries and began releasing demo material, which sparked the interest of several major labels. Due to management problems, however, the Cranberries' debut effort Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We didn't come out until 1993. The following year saw the release of No Need to Argue, an album whose lead-off single, "Zombie," brought the group to fame in several countries and threw O'Riordan into the public eye. To the Faithful Departed was issued in 1996, and three years later Bury the Hatchet hit shelves.

As the '90s progressed, the Cranberries' commercial success steadily waned. Nonetheless, they released Wake Up and Smell the Coffee in 2001 and the greatest-hits compilation Stars: The Best of 1992-2002 in 2002. Shortly thereafter, however, the bandmembers announced that they would be splitting up, giving O'Riordan time not only to focus on her family and health (she had battled anorexia and anxiety throughout her time in the spotlight) but also on her solo career. She contributed a song, "Pure Love," to Italian superstar Zucchero's album of duets, Zucchero & Co., and in May 2007 her solo full-length debut, Are You Listening, was released worldwide. Her sophomore set, No Baggage, followed two years later, its release coinciding with O'Riordan's acting debut in the David Grieco film Secrets of Love. In 2010, the Cranberries ended their hiatus with a reunion tour and a new album, Roses, which was released in 2012. In the following years, O'Riordan remained relatively silent. It wasn't until a chance meeting with former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke in 2015 that she explored new territory as a member of super trio, D.A.R.K. Along with Rourke and New York producer/songwriter Ole Koretsky, she arranged and produced D.A.R.K.'s New Wave-inspired debut, Science Agrees (Cooking Vinyl), which was released in 2016.

Biography by Marisa Brown, Allmusic.com

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Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - 'Are You Listening?' (2007) + 'No Baggage' (2009)

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Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - 'Are You Listening?' (2007) + 'No Baggage' (2009)

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It's been a long period of quiet for Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries. Her band quietly disbanded after the 2001 release of Wake Up and Smell the Coffee and although she didn't disappear, O'Riordan surely wasn't overly active, popping up on music by Angelo Badalamenti and Zucchero but primarily devoting herself to family affairs before she set out to record her solo debut with producer Youth in 2006. Released the following year, Are You Listening sidesteps the turgid proggy inclinations of latter-day Cranberries albums while also avoiding the awkward attempts at hard rock that plagued some of the band's mid-period albums. So, it returns O'Riordan to her strengths: melodic, atmospheric, mildly brooding pop. But Are You Listening isn't exactly a dead ringer for Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? Youth gives this album drama, grandeur, and muscle, so it sounds positively cinematic where early Cranberries was quiet and insular. Of course, this sense of scale is only appropriate for the modern-day Dolores O'Riordan, who has long been a star but where that sense of confidence could turn indulgent on latter-day Cranberries albums, she's now relatively humble and direct, singing songs about family, faith, and nostalgia that sound relatable to fans who have grown up with her and are also facing similar issues. And that's why Are You Listening is a success as a solo debut: it doesn't resurrect O'Riordan's earliest work as much as reconnect with it, and she hasn't sounded this purposeful, or made a record this satisfying, since the days of "Linger."

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - 'Are You Listening?' (2007) + 'No Baggage' (2009)

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If the title of Dolores O'Riordan's 2007 debut Are You Listening? asked a question appropriate for the launch of a solo career, the name of her 2009 sophomore effort is a statement of purpose: she's heading into this next phase of her career with no expectations, No Baggage. Of course, she cannot leave behind her distinctive voice, nor does she wish to, as she gives her two trademarks – the breathy whisper and lacerating caterwaul – almost equal space here. That doesn't necessarily mean that O'Riordan relies on the familiar throughout No Baggage. Yes, this is instantly recognizable as her music – not just in that voice, but its blend of folk-rock and sighing, spacy rock that splits the difference between U2 and David Gilmour-led Pink Floyd – but No Baggage is bigger, brighter than Are You Listening? and as the album starts to hit its stride halfway through, she weaves in increasingly varied instrumentations, sometimes delving into pure worldbeat influence but more often using all these sounds as coloring on crisp, cheerful adult pop. These clean, open arrangements tend to make the songs seem catchier than they actually are – the hooks don't grab, they repeat like softened incantations that never quite catch hold – but that does give No Baggage an nice, gentle shimmer that's appealing.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com