PreNup Hell To Pay (2007)

rolling Stones-esque AOR rock’n’roll is the order of the day for O’Riordan’s project alongside Fiachna O’Bronain and Dave Clarke. The name of the band, trivia fans, alludes to the fact that all the group’s members were divorcees. The Fender that appears on the cover of the LP is rich and full on the Beatles-bluesy ‘Cold Wind’, where O’Riordan’s plaintive descending whole notes are atmospheric and smooth. On ‘Say Goodbye’ she gives it some, with major sevenths ascending to the octave. ‘Foolish Love’ nearly, very nearly, gets the funk on. The line on ‘Leave It All Behind’ is reminiscent of the Elvis Presley track, ‘Suspicious Minds’, a comparison that also holds for the guitar. The high-register riff of ‘Technicolor’ is the sweetest bass on the record, while the most authentically O’Riordan moment is probably ‘Headwrecker’. Here she indulges her Ramones side, injecting a sense of urgency into an LP that often meanders around. Hell to Pay isn’t perfect, but when it works, it really works; ‘Swollen’ is a kind of through-the-looking-glass Breeders, complete with diminished-note turns by the bassist.