HYLLS – the new enigmatic project fronted by Nadia Ali – have paid tribute to the death of The Cranberries‘ vocalist Dolores O’Riordan in a gorgeous rendition of the band’s 1993 hit, “Linger.”
Cinematic as it is chilling, HYLLS’ version of “Linger” goes beyond what a cover song has meant in the past while still honoring the memory of O’Riordan in quite possibly the best tribute we’ve seen and heard yet.
“One of the songs that I used to listen to on repeat as a teenager was ‘Linger’ by the Cranberries. It had this bittersweet feeling to it and it resonated so much with me,” shared Ali. “When we were in the middle of writing songs for HYLLS, we decided to take a little break from the original songs and try a cover version of ‘Linger.’ When we were done, it sounded great, but I wanted to do something a little different with the vocal melody. The original was so sacred to me that I felt like I couldn’t use the same melody, as no one could do it justice. So I went back in the booth and did one last take and the result was an eastern influenced minor scaled melody using the same lyrics and flow. For me, the whole idea of doing a cover is about paying respect to an artist that influenced you and who you admire. This cover was recorded a year before the tragic passing of Dolores O’Riordan, and releasing it is my way to honor her legacy and thank her for her beautiful musical contribution to my life and the lives of so many other people.”
Listen to “Linger” below:
