Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

The Cranberries

After 10 years of making hit records, you would think Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan would have figured out how to write a proper rock lyric. But less than two minutes into the Irish group's fifth album, we are treated to a flashing display of her incomparable wit: "Birds in the sky/ they look so high" she coos on the opening track "Never Grow Old," before adding "I feel the breeze/ I feel at ease." And that's when she is being mercifully clever. On the title track, she doesn't even bother summoning the lessons learned in fifth-grade poetry. She simply repeats each line twice, therefore rhyming every sentiment with itself. The lazy writing is really a shame because it gets in the way of one of the last truly clear, pristine voices in rock. While the Cranberries' musical might remains largely intact on its fifth album, showcasing full-bodied rhythms and symphonic flourishes on tracks like "I Really Hope" and "This Is the Day," it's really difficult to sustain any interest when the tiresome lyrics trip you up at every turn. --Jaan Uhelszki

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