DESTINY FULFILLED, the new CD by R&B girl group Destiny's Child, begins with a female voice shouting "hit me!" Meant metaphorically and musically, it's still jarring for a second, as the band rolls into "Lose My Breath." Sadly, the retro male-female messages all over DESTINY FULFILLED don't offer many coping tools for young women in bad relationships, but maybe they shouldn't have to.

Destiny's Child, the super-popular trio of gorgeous girls with gorgeous voices, has regrouped after the phenomenal solo success of one of its members. When the singers decided to go solo a few years ago Kelly Rowland had a moment of fame with "Dilemma," her Nelly duet, and Michelle Williams made a couple of Gospel albums. But Beyonce Knowles hit the ground running, sold 4 million copies of her debut album, and won five Grammy Awards. So, why look back?

No new ground is broken in the lyrics, for sure. Most of the songs are filled with overwrought lyrics about how far these ladies will go to please their men. A low point is "Cater2You" in which the ladies promise to "keep my hair fixed," "keep my figure right," and "roll over" if their men come home late and find them sleeping. "Soldier" gamely tries for street credibility with lyrics like "Better be street if he's looking at me.../known to carry big things if you know what I mean." "T-Shirt" is about the sweetness of falling asleep wearing your guy's t-shirt after making love.

But more than anything else, DESTINY FULFILLED seems to be a testament to loyalty and long-time friendship. The chemistry seems effortless, and the harmonies are exquisite. If the traditional male-female roles expressed in the lyrics make feminist moms want to hit their heads against a wall, stress the loyalty and girlfriend power angle, and enjoy all the very pretty singing.