The Cranberries

Show Me The Way

(Cooking Vinyl)

‘SHOW Me The Way’ is the first new material from The Cranberries in a decade. The track is lifted from the Limerick band’s long overdue sixth album, which was recorded in Toronto and London this summer.
‘Roses’ was produced by long-time collaborator Stephen Street and you can be guaranteed it will sell by the barrel-load when it’s released on Valentine’ Day 2012. Unfortunately, judging by the first single taken from the album, it sounds as though the world-beating Limrockers have also scraped the bottom of it this time out. I would have hoped that after a ten year hiatus that The Cranberries would have returned with a spring in their step and some new ideas up their sleeves.
Guitarist Noel Hogan certainly proved with his solo Mono Band and Arkitekt projects that he’s no slouch when it comes to penning a killer tune. Perhaps he’s keeping all the best tunes for his next solo offering?
‘Show Me The Way’ is business as usual and by numbers Cranberries. It’s a banal nursery rhyme that lacks spontaneity or surprise. A pastiche of former glories, it’s a bloated little ditty that chugs along on an ephemeral fluffy cloud of grandeur as Dolly repeats mind-numbingly droll lyrics about losing her way. “Show to me the path I should take,” she sweetly whispers. Well someone should!
This is an unimaginative effort that does not bode well for Cranberries album number six.

‘Show Me The Way’ is available now as a free download from http://www.cranberries.com/