The Cranberries’ quintessential worldwide single has gotten a dreamy reimagining by CHVRCHES’ Iain Cook. Releasing today, June 28, 2024, this new version of “Linger” imbues the gorgeous indie rock original with lush and orchestral tones.
“Iain did an outstanding job in remixing ‘Linger,’” says Cranberries drummer Fergal Lawler. “He reimagined the song completely, creating a fresh and upbeat version of this classic.”
Instead of crafting a standard remix, Cook deconstructed the song in parts and reassembled it to create a whole new listening experience. Carefully retaining the vocal melody of late Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan with utmost reverence and respect, he rebuilt the track around her vocals. “When I got the stems, the first thing I did was listen to Dolores’ vocal tracks in isolation,” he explains. “Hearing those for the first time was magical; I was shocked by the intimacy and emotion in her performance. The first thing I did was to sit with the vocals on their own and rework the chords on piano. I often find that this is a great starting point with remixes as it helps you to shake off some associations that you have with the song, and this is a song which I’ve known and loved for over 30 years.”
Reworking the instrumentation from the ‘90s psychedelic indie rock sound and tuning it more towards a psychedelic ’60s/’70s British folk revival (“different drugs but not an entirely different mindset”), he made sure to keep the iconic elements of the song secure (“I kept the gorgeous string arrangement from the original. I had to chop and pitch some of the strings to work with the new chords but I think the spirit of the original arrangement is intact”).
“Dolores’s original vocal is retained and sounds so beautiful and vulnerable at times,” beams Lawler. “I’m sure she would have loved it.”
Initially released in 1993, “Linger” was the second single from the Irish band’s breakthrough debut Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? which was certified 5x platinum in the U.S. and 2x platinum in the U.K. Called a “wistful ’90s gem that’s pure Irish poetry” by Billboard, the iconic track, as Pitchfork relays, “condenses every stage of heartache into four-and-a-half minutes of pop perfection.” The band’s highest charting U.S. single, “Linger” reached #4 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay and remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for an astounding 24 weeks.
The three-song digital EP, which is released today, contains the remix plus edit and the original. In addition, a Dolby ATMOS is released as well.
