Wake Up and Smell the Coffee is quintessential Delores O'Riordan and company. Older, wiser and no less angry, the Cranberries now have families of their own; O'Riordan's maternity comes through with "Never Grow Old" and the lovely "Pretty Eyes." There are some very nice bits on Wake Up..., but the album in its entirety reminds us that we've been down this road before. The Cranberries are musically sunny jangle-y pop, and lately that ray of sun is a relief. However, after ten years there doesn't appear to be any musical progression from the tried and true. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee is a fine continuance of the Cranberries catalogue, but it certainly isn't growth.
(MCA)Cranberries
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
BY Carol HarrisonPublished Feb 1, 2002