Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

Well this is a doozy. Before she died of alcohol related misadventure in early 2018, Dolores O’Riordan had completed vocals for an all new Cranberries record. The last one released before her death was a collection of re-recordings. So this release is incredibly special. Not only is it the very last Cranberries record, it may be the last recordings of O’Riordan. Opening track “All Over Now” is incredibly good but the lyric about the hotel room in London takes on some eeriness these days. The track is really good and would’ve been part of the band’s next chapter. This is a very downbeat record, very atmospheric and relatively quiet. “A Place I Know” is a great example of this, very quiet and moody but exceptionally good. It’s quite easy to get caught up in Dolores’ soothing voice. “Lost” is as morose a ballad as you can get; it’s still interesting but it’s fairly easy to get lost yourself in the emotions the track brings up. “Wake Me When It’s Over” is another great track that showcas...

The guitarist of Spin Doctors released his second solo record about a year and a half ago and it’s not that great or interesting. The guitar work sounds good but when he starts singing, everything really goes out the window. It’s like if John Mayer had never taken voice lessons and just started making sounds with his mouth. Sometimes a voice can wreck an entire record and that’s just what’s happened here. “Locked in the House All Day” is a perfect example of this. Some good musicianship but the vocals just destroy everything good that had already been established. What you basically have here is a blues record with some really awful vocals. “Lincoln’s Feat” is another example of a song that has some really good playing but horrible vocals. If this had been an instrumental disc, it would have been way more interesting than what we ended up getting. The title track takes on a bit of a ska bent but again the vocals suck and it turns into amateur hour. Just don’t bother. There’s an int...

When Richmond, Virginia’s own House of Freaks emerged in 1987 with their blend of drums, guitar and vocals with no bass, it was seen as a different kind of rock music for a different kind of audience. With the release of 1988’s Monkey on a Chain Gang , the band set themselves apart from the rest of the pack with their introspective lyrics and musical approach. The voice of Bryan Harvey is one that is hard to forget, especially with the dynamic drumming of Johnny Hott behind him. From the start of the record, with the double whammy of “Crack in the Sidewalk” and “40 Years,” the lyrics just hit you and won’t let up. “40 Years” in particular is incredibly introspective with its remembrances of the 40 th anniversary of WWII as well as time lost and won. When one listens to the music, it’s hard to believe it was created by only two men; “Lonesome Graveyard” stands out in this instance with Bryan’s guitar staccatos all over the place and Johnny’s subdued pounding driving the rhythm. Amo...

Irish rockers Therapy? had been around for over ten years before the release of 2003’s High Anxiety . They’d been through quite a lot, lineup changes, faulty record deals and audience indifference, but still they persevered. With the release of High Anxiety , the band went back to their roots, driving hard rock and the album’s standout, “If It Kills Me” was one of the best songs of their career and one song that needs to be heard by more. The song is simple, but that’s the story of Therapy?’s career, they don’t know how to do things any differently, so why bother changing anything. The drumming of dynamo Neil Cooper propels the song to its hard-hitting best. The always reliable Andrew Cairns, a mix of soul and punk, delivers some of his best lyrics here, talking about the same thing he’s always talked about, failed relationships and how to get them restarted. While the band gave it their best shot, it wasn’t enough and the song was left to wither and rot on the vine. But the band d...

When most people think about For Squirrels, they mostly think of “Mighty K.C.,” their tribute to Kurt Cobain. If anything else, they think about the unspeakable tragedy that befell the band before the release of their major-label debut Example . On September 8, 1995, the band was traveling back to their hometown of Gainesville, Florida from playing a triumphant set at the CMJ Music Festival. Frontman Jack Vigilitura was driving the van carrying him, guitarist Travis Tooke, bassist Bill White, drummer Jack Griego and tour manager Tim Bender through Georgia when a tire popped. Vigilitura lost control and the van flipped. Vigilitura and Bender were dead at the scene and White died at the hospital. The accident happened a month before the record was released but Griego and Tooke opted on to carry out the release as is, with no changes to the liner notes or anything. “8:02 PM” was the first single released from the record and immediately catches the ears with an interesting guitar lick ...