It's coming up Roses for The Cranberries

MANILA, Philippines - The Cranberries wrapped up in Manila its Asian concert tour promoting its brand-new album Roses.

The album marks the official return of the Irish rock band, made up of Dolores O’Riordan (vocalist), Fergal Lawler (drummer) and brothers Noel (guitarist) and Mike Hogan (bassist), to the recording scene since reuniting as a band and mounting a comeback in late 2009, playing to crowds in Europe and North America.

Last night’s concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum was the Cranberries’ second performance in the country after 16 years. A day before its concert, The STAR had a one-on-one with the alternative-rock band that gained global stardom in the ’90s, selling over 30 million records worldwide and producing the top hits Linger, Zombie, Dreams, Ode To My Family, Free To Decide, Salvation, et. al. that are now considered rock classics. The band talked a bit about life before and after withdrawing from the music scene in 2003, exactly 10 years after its debut, and then coming together again six years later.

“It’s now actually better than ever I think. Because we’re a bit older, we understand each other more, we give each other space,” said Fergal.

Roses is the band’s first studio album since reuniting in late 2009 — Photos by Magic Liwanag

“It’s been great and been very relaxed. It’s not as hectic as it was when we finished off 2003,” added Noel.

Mike said, “(Getting back together) felt very natural actually, it’s like we didn’t stop.”

When asked if the band’s better at handling fandom and fame now as compared to before, Dolores said, “When you first get famous, it’s shocking, but then you become used to it. It becomes a part of your life, but yes it was a bit hard because we were so young then.”

She added, “The hardest part was getting back to our hometown in Limerick (Ireland). It’s not just you who changed, but the people around you also changed. Like I remember in my wedding, I had five girls from my class, but only one girl treated me as me. The rest were like, ‘Can you believe it, can you believe it, can you believe it?’ And I said ‘That I got married’? ‘That how famous you are!’ It just makes (things) difficult how people react to you. But after a while, you become an old hat, then you take a break, then you’re relaxed and you just get used to it.”

The band couldn’t help but muse though about the celebrity culture these days, somewhat weirded out by the bigger attention given to the personal lives of personalities (some of whom even became famous by not doing anything, Fergal commented). Noel noted that it was something that was around in the ’90s, but not as intrusive or magnified as it is today. Not that it worries them, with Dolores saying that there isn’t much excitement going on in their private lives. “We’re actually a bit boring,” Dolores joked.   

Nevertheless, the band admitted that boredom partly provoked the break that happened in 2003. During the hiatus, each of the members pursued solo careers.

The Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan arriving at the NAIA Monday for last night’s concert at the Big Dome

Noel said, “We needed to try other things, to work on other directions; and we noticed how much it helped us when we got back together. We had then kind of gone round the circle of doing a lot of touring, it just became boring, I think for everyone, in 2003.”

“We were burned-out. We just didn’t want to do it anymore, we just had to get away from each other and from the band. We’ve actually been together since we were teenagers,” Fergal added.

But Dolores would rather not linger on that episode in the band’s career, and is all about moving forward because “we’re in a really good place now.”

The Cranberries has had contributed plenty to the music industry with its unique alternative-rock sound, incorporating elements of indie-pop, post-punk and Irish folk into its haunting and honest songs about love, relationships, family, even socio-political issues that have stayed on in melody and meaning for many a music fan through the years.

Its new album, released here under Universal Records, is not any different, according to the band. The reviews are saying that Roses will remind fans of the band they have come to love more than a decade ago.

“Creatively, (the break) was very good (for the record), we had no pressure on. We were just writing for fun since we had a time-off, and we had a very laidback kind of thing. It was not a conscious thing (to return to our musical roots). We just kind of found what we love,” said Dolores.

The Cranberries Live in Manila: The Greatest Hits Concert was presented by Karpos Multimedia and Midas Promotions.