Reviews of CDs or live gigs are common, online or in print. But last Thursday (June 12th), the Irish newspaper The Tuam Herald published a full review ofThe Cranberries Official Website, and since it’s something we rarely see reviewed, we’re bringing it to you.

One of the first things that the newspaper pointed out was that the variety of content which should please both the hardcore fan and the casual web surfer. The Tuam Herald compliments the weekly news updates, which are better-than-average for a large portion of bands’ official sites.

The “Back” button, a biology-textbook-like graphic of a cell, was one facet that annoyed the reviewer. “Maybe I’m just not reading the image right but the ‘back’ button resembles an overhead view of a hole on a golf course, which I’ve seen more times on TV coverage of the PGA tour than on a band’s site, somehow I’m sure that wasn’t the intention of its designer.”

The reviewer also confessed that he wasn’t overly fond of some official pages because they are set up with the primary intention of selling merchandise. Although The Cranberries’ site does indeed include an online store, the reviewer praised the fact that it is not the site’s main focus.

Other positively-rated aspects included the complete lyrics section, varying layout designs from section to section, and the photogallery. Negative drawbacks were the lack of a completely updated biography (the current one ends at 2001) and the reviewer’s inability to load the plug-in required for the online game.

In summary, the reviewer noted, “The official website is definitely one of their (The Cranberries’) better productions and seems to give and offer something to the real hard-line fan and those who like the music but are really only passing through on the web.” The site was given a final score of 8 out of 10, not bad indeed!

Source: The Tuam Herald