Hear the Cranberries’ Potent Farewell Ballad ‘In the End’

The Cranberries unveiled the poignant title-track from their upcoming final album, In the End, out April 26th via BMG.

From the title to sonics and lyrics, “In the End” is a fitting album closer. The track is a simple acoustic ballad buoyed by a low rumble of drums and soft strings, while late singer Dolores O’Riordan softens her vocals to place the emphasis on her words: “Ain’t it strange?” she sings, “When everything you wanted/Was nothing like you wanted?/In the end.”

“In the End” follows previously released album cuts “Wake Me When It’s Over,” “All Over Now” and “The Pressure.” O’Riordan and Cranberries guitarist Noel Hogan began working on all the songs on the LP before O’Riordan’s death last January. After several months of mourning, Hogan and the rest of the Cranberries enlisted producer Stephen Street — who’d previous helmed four Cranberries records — to help them finish the album.

The Cranberries have no intention to replace O’Riordan or remain a band after the release of In the End. “It’s not something we’re ever going to entertain,” Hogan told Rolling Stone. “I think the band accomplished a lot, and I think we’ll leave it on a high with this album.”