After more than a decade exploring psychedelic pop, jazz, and electronic textures through her project Sis – most recently as Sis and the Lower Wisdom – Jenny Gillespie Mason turned back toward the acoustic guitar of her youth. Released in June 2026, In the Safety Of The Light marked that return to the acoustic folk music Mason first began writing as a teenager. An album that moves through questions of how to live a spiritual life while remaining fully human, drawing on Mason’s practice as an aspiring yogi, her life as a mother and wife, and her deep engagement with the teachings of Mother Mirra Alfassa.
Jenny now joins us for a Why I Love on one of her inspirations, The Cranberries.
A PRIESTESS ON STAGE
I think the Cranberries were one of the best bands in existence. This is from consistently re-listening to their albums as well as having had the privilege to see them perform live in the nineties, which was a transformational moment for me as a young musician. Dolores O’Riordan was a priestess on the stage; she didn’t have to resort to being sexual as many female musicians felt (and still feel) they had to do. She was just standing purely in her own power, in the grace and force of her otherworldly voice.
Regarding my opinion that they are probably one of the best bands to have existed, it’s not just the skill of their playing. It’s the effortless alchemy of their arrangements, their vibrant and sincere energies behind each instrument. I find it similar to the Beatles–how well they play together and the force of the ideas behind the music coming through into an easeful manifestation, due to the perfect blend of musical personalities. The music has a shamanic, devotional, truth-seeking feel, which is so rare now. The lyrics are interesting and poetic, but universal and easy to access. The melodies feel ancient but bright and new as well. The Celtic spirit surely informs all of this. The album design was always spot on too, very consistently elegant and arresting.
A MARVEL AND A TREASURE
Then there is Dolores O’Riordan’s voice which is a marvel and a treasure; any singer could listen again and again to study her fearlessness, skill and finesse as a vocalist. She can go so soft and vulnerable, and then erupt into a keening, or deep warrior tones. Knowing her troubled personal history adds to the poignancy of listening. She came to give us a real gift, but her sensitivity, so apparent in her music, was most likely overwhelmed by the darkness we go through as human beings. She was able to channel this overwhelm for a time (our luck as listeners and fans) into a sacred music that transcended into a pop realm, so that this otherworldy soul — with a message to seek out the truth — was able to touch so many.
It was such a pleasure to introduce my sons to their music recently and to see them really enjoying it. Not only because it really pleases me that my sons enjoy a woman-fronted band, both the harder rocking and intense Zombie (which was their gateway into the music) but also the ethereal, deeply feminine Linger and Dreams” It’s a testament to the band’s timelessness that their music is holding up so well in these times, and continues to transcend gender and age.
Our grateful thanks to Jenny for sharing one of the inspirations for her own music.
Here’s a track from In The Safety Of The Light, Rungs Of Love:
You can read more from our extensive archive of Why I Love pieces from a wide array of artists on an even wider array of subjects, here.
Jenny Gillespie Mason: Instagram