Irish pop band the Cranberries will celebrate the release of their fourth album, Bury

the Hatchet (April 27), with a worldwide, intimate club tour.

Kicking off with a show April 28 at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club, the

group will play a slate of nine U.S. and Canadian shows. Tickets for

the shows will be available exclusively through the Internet, via the

band's official site (www.cranberries.com).

The follow-up to its platinum-selling 1996 album, To the Faithful

Departed, which featured the radio track

"Salvation"

(RealAudio excerpt), Bury the Hatchet was produced by Benedict

Fenner (David Bowie, Elvis Costello) and recorded in Canada and France.

The quartet -- fronted by charismatic singer Dolores O'Riordan and

featuring Noel Hogan on guitar, Mike Hogan on bass and Fergal Lawler on

drums -- formed in Limerick, Ireland, in 1990. Mixing late '80s British

dream pop with Irish melodies, its breakthrough hit was the lush ballad

"Linger" from its 1993 debut, Everybody Else is Doing It, So

Why Can't We?

After the single caught fire in the U.S., the Cranberries became

worldwide stars, scoring several more hits on their multiplatinum

follow-up, 1994's No Need To Argue, including the slightly harder-edged "Zombie."

The first single from the 13-track album will be "Promises." The full

track listing for Bury the Hatchet is: "Animal Instinct," "Loud

and Clear," "Promises," "You and Me," "Just My Imagination," "Shattered,"

"Desperate Andy," "Saving Grace," "Copycat," "What's on My Mind,"

"Delilah," "Fee Fi Fo" and "Dying in the Sun."

The Internet-only promotion could be both a boon and a pain to Cranberries

fans hoping to catch the group live, according to one music industry expert.

"The only detriment would be if they're completely ignoring their fans

with no computer access," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of touring

industry trade magazine Pollstar. "But, then again, it's great

for their fans to get an opportunity to see them in such an intimate

setting and it's general admission, so everyone has a chance at

getting a good spot."

The group will appear on "The Late Show With David Letterman" April 26, before it

launches the U.S. leg of the tour April 28.

The Cranberries have kept a low profile for the past two years, after

they cancelled a November 1997 tour citing O'Riordan's exhaustion. They

played their only live show since then at last year's Nobel Peace Prize

celebration in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 15, where they shared the stage

with Alanis Morissette and Norwegian pop act a-ha.

Cranberries Tour Dates:

April 28; Washington, D.C.; 9:30 Club

April 30; Philadelphia, Pa.; Tower Theatre

May 3; Boston, Mass.; Orpheum

May 5; New York, N.Y.; Hammerstein Ballroom

May 8; Toronto, Ontario; Phoenix Club

May 12; Chicago, Ill.; Riviera

May 15; Las Vegas, Nev.; The Joint

May 17; San Francisco, Calif.; Warfield

May 19; Los Angeles, Calif.; Wiltern