Thirty years since the release of “No Need to Argue,” The Cranberries remain timeless with their music and lyrics. Recently gaining traction on social media platforms like TikTok, it’s clear that fans are still raving about their music.
The Cranberries, an Irish band encompassing genres of alternative rock, dream pop and folk rock, blew into stardom after the release of their first album, “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” After spending months on the charts, the hit single “Linger” proved a fan favorite.
Returning to the studio to produce “No Need to Argue,” this second album was the make-or-break factor for the band’s booming career. The release of the album’s single “Zombie” brought the band new waves of popularity and praise. Dolores O’Riordan, The Cranberries’ lead singer, was inspired to write “Zombie” after the Irish Provisional Republican Army’s bomb attacks in Warrington, Cheshire, England in 1993.
According to Forbes, O’Riordan stated in a 1994 interview with Vox magazine, “I remember seeing one of the mothers on television, just devastated. I felt so sad for her, that she’d carried him for nine months, been through all the morning sickness, the whole thing and … some airhead who thought he was making a point did that.”
O’Riordan received backlash for the song’s raw lyrics. Listeners claimed that she was taking sides with the Northern Irish Conflict. However, O’Riordan stated in a 1994 interview with Vox that the song was simply written from a humanitarian point of view.
The deep, spunky guitar strums in the opening of “Zombie” remain unforgettable 30 years later. This single is the band’s lament to anti-terrorism. O’Riordan said “Zombie” was one of the most aggressive songs the band has ever written in an interview with Classic Rock.
“Another head hangs lowly/ Child is slowly taken/ And the violence caused such silence/ Who are we mistaken?” O’Riordan sings.
This influential single was recorded in Dublin, Ireland with producer Stephen Street. According to Udiscovermusic, the band was not aiming to jump on the grunge bandwagon. But with “Zombie” experimenting with instrumental feedback and distortion, this track embodies many grungy qualities.
The opening track on the album, “Ode To My Family,” covers the feelings of homesickness and nostalgia. The song opens with O’Riordan’s rhythmic voice as she transitions into singing about wanting to revert to her childhood. She touches on yearning to reconnect with her past relationships, even if some were not healthy.
“My mother, my mother/ She’d hold me/ She’d hold me when I was out there/ My father, my father/ He liked me, well, he liked me/ Does anyone care?” O’Riordan sings.
With a catchy chorus and up-tempo beat, “Ode To My Family” remains a timeless classic of The Cranberries discography. Listeners can feel O’Riordan’s pain as the song allows for interpretation of what nostalgia means to the listener.
“(They Long To Be) Close To You,” appearing on The Complete Sessions, is a cover of The Carpenter’s single. Similar to the original’s whimsy and light take, O’Riordan sings peacefully alongside an acoustic guitar. This track is a love song, romanticizing the existence of the perfect partner.
“Why do birds suddenly/ appear, ev’ry time you are near?/ Just like me, they long to be/ close to you,” O’Riordan sings.
The Cranberries’ cover has an addition of O’Riordan’s vocals rather than the accompanying trumpet in the original. This track is another one of the band’s hit love songs following “Linger” and “Dreams,” found in “Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”
The final song on the tracklist is “So Cold In Ireland.” With a wispy opening of guitar riffs and O’Riordan’s yearning voice, she sings about a lost love.
“Where have you gone, from/me?/ The one that I loved endlessly/ We were to have a child/ Yesterday’s gone,” O’Riordan sings.
Connecting the rigidness that is Ireland’s weather, the song narrates a woman who has lost her partner. Mourning over the life and future she has lost with them is heavy. O’Riordan’s trembling voice during the chorus moves alongside the emotional lyrics, leaving the song to stick with the listener even after ending.
Decades later, The Cranberries remain as a spotlight for 90s whimsy goth music. With much of their discography layered with inspiration from political turmoil and social movements, The Cranberries have built a reputation of being a spotlight.
Although songs are left with the use of great interpretation, one thing that does bring listeners together is their timeless use of instrumentals and vocals — a true Cranberries signature.
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