GRADE: D

CD • Alanis Morissette has returned from oblivion to release her seventh album, "Havoc and Bright Lights," her first in four years. Becoming a mother inspires some artists to ponder great questions, but the 38-year-old Canadian seems more mired in minutiae. First single "Guardian" has some bounce to open the album, but the rest of the typically verbose proceedings are curiously short on hooks or even the spark that in the past has elevated her material.

I suppose we should be happy that she seems happy, but being complacent isn't as interesting as raging against The Man (in every sense of the world) that made "Jagged Little Pill" and "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" so dynamic, catchy and thought-provoking. She oughta know better.