The Cranberries are bringing back a piece of their history. Island and UMe announced today the reissue of ‘Uncertain’, the Irish alt-rock band’s rare four-song EP originally released in October 1991. The limited edition, numbered and lightly remastered release arrives January 30th on cranberry-colored vinyl, pressed at 45-RPM. Originally released in extremely limited quantities with estimates projecting just 5,000 copies were made, the EP captures the band on the verge of their worldwide breakthrough, two years before their debut album ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’ launched them to global stardom.
The EP showcases the youthful energy of vocalist Dolores O’Riordan, drummer Fergal Lawler, bassist Mike Hogan, and guitarist Noel Hogan at the start of their journey. Fergal reflects on the recording, noting how young they were at the time. “Whoa! Listening to these songs is like taking a trip through a Time Machine. We were so young when we recorded this EP. You can really hear it in Dolores’s voice. She was just 19 years old then.” Noel adds his own perspective on revisiting the material. “Listening to Uncertain all these years later, I’m surprised by how well it’s held up. You can hear small hints of how the band would eventually sound, but more than anything, it brings back great memories of four young people eager to play music.”
The title track leads with O’Riordan’s ethereal vocals guiding the musical arrangement, while “Nothing Left At All” finds the band in contemplative territory. Fergal describes it as heartbreaking lyrically but driven by a beat that gives it hope. “Pathetic Senses” delivers propulsive energy and hints at the post-punk edge the band would later explore on singles like “Zombie” and “Promises.” The song features what Fergal calls Dolores’ superb high soprano backing vocal, big guitar power chords, and jangly picking parts that remind him of The Cure, a band they all admired.
Closing track “Them” holds special significance for Fergal. “I personally always loved this song. It’s so powerful. It was one of the songs we played live a lot in our early days that really had a mesmerizing effect on the audience.” The reissue offers fans a chance to own a snapshot of The Cranberries before “Dreams,” “Linger,” and “Zombie” cemented their status as alt-rock icons with multiplatinum albums and billions of streams.
TRACKLISTING:
SIDE A
- Uncertain
- Nothing At All
SIDE B
- Pathetic Senses
- Them