** The Cranberries

BURY THE HATCHET

(Island)

In the three years since their last release, the strident To the Faithful Departed, the members of this Irish quartet may have buried the hatchet with one another, but for the most part singer Dolores O'Riordan and guitarist Noel Hogan are just as angry and shrill. None of the tunes on Bury the Hatchet, which comes out this Tuesday, is as relentlessly catchy or haunting as "Dreams," "Linger," or "Zombie," though there are a couple of lovely and simple numbers: "Saving Grace," a sweet ode to O'Riordan's newborn baby, and "Just My Imagination," which is as wistful as the band's best work. Otherwise, the foursome's mannerisms have hardened into a bitter formula: slushy arrangements, lyrics that mix accusation with recrimination (notably in the single "Promises" and in "Delilah"), and O'Riordan's annoying shellshock tic of endlessly repeating syllables and phrases. In "Copycat," she rails against the sameness of rock radio, which is full of acts who copy one another or themselves. Apparently the irony is lost on her.

-- Gary Susman