Wake Up And Smell The Coffee
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