I tend to associate albums with different times of the year, some more so than others. Some records remind me of summer, while others seem more tailor made for those cold winter evenings when you don’t really feel like going anywhere. No Need to Argue, the second studio album from The Cranberries, has always sounded like an overcast afternoon to me. Not one of those miserable days where it’s pouring rain and you can’t see ten feet in front of you, but the sort where the sky stays gray all afternoon and everything outside looks a little different because of it.
Released in 1994, No Need to Argue followed the band’s successful debut, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, and brought them even greater international recognition. It’s an album that I’ve always appreciated for the way it handles melancholy without making every song miserable or the album itself depressing. Dolores O’Riordan deserves a great deal of credit for that because she had one of those voices that could make a fairly simple melody sound deeply personal. She could sing softly enough that you almost felt like you were listening to somebody thinking out loud, then suddenly let loose with a vocal that could fill an entire stadium. And she had that unmistakable Irish accent, which gave her performances a character that nobody else could really duplicate.
The album opens with Ode to My Family, which is a lovely song about childhood and family with a touch of homesickness to it. O’Riordan captures that feeling of missing home and the way things used to be (or how they might be remembered) beautifully. The band lets the song develop without overwhelming it with a huge arrangement instead of overpowering the vocals which I have always appreciated.
I Can’t Be with You picks up the pace a lot, with a rhythm that makes it one of the album’s more accessible songs. The Cranberries were very good at taking something sad and giving it enough energy that you could enjoy the music without feeling weighed down by the subject matter and I believe that’s one of the reasons their records hold up as well as they do. If you listen casually you can simply enjoy the melodies, but if you pay attention and examine the lyrics then you’re more likely to find something personal underneath that you can appreciate more.
And then, of course, there’s Zombie. I imagine most people who know anything about The Cranberries are familiar with this one, and for good reason, and if you aren’t familiar with the group then you most likely have still heard this one and just didn’t realize who it was. Written in response to the 1993 Warrington bombings, it’s an angry protest song about violence and the suffering it causes, and O’Riordan delivers one of the most powerful performances of her career. This track also features a more distorted sound from the guitars that the heavier sound combined with O’Riordan’s voice really helps make the song impossible to ignore. It’s a track that I’ve heard many times over the years, but still has the ability to stop me in my tracks anytime I hear it because of how raw it is.
The thing about Zombie is that it’s such an enormous song that it can tend to overshadow the rest of the album, and it’s understandable why, because it’s a tremendous recording, but I think people who only know this one track are missing out on some wonderful music. Most of No Need to Argue is much quieter, dealing with relationships and the sort of personal disappointments that don’t really inspire anybody to pick up an electric guitar and start shouting. Not that I have anything against shouting when the occasion calls for it (Thalia has demonstrated that on more than one occasion).
Empty is one of the songs I find myself returning to most often. There’s a kind of vulnerability in O’Riordan’s performance that makes it feel almost uncomfortable at times, and I mean in a way that it almost feels as though you’re listening to something she might ordinarily have kept to herself. Everything I Said has a similar quality, although I think what appeals to me there is the familiar experience of looking back on a conversation and wishing you’d handled it differently. I’ve certainly had moments when I’ve thought of exactly what I should have said, usually several hours after it would’ve been useful.
The album gets a little darker with The Icicle Melts track. This is a song that deals with a subject that is more disturbing than its gentle beginning initially suggests that it’s going to be, but it’s still a beautiful track. It’s followed by Disappointment, which is a title I suspect just about everybody can relate to at some point (I know I can, although I prefer not to keep a running list). I’d probably need another shelf in the archives just to store it if I did.
Ridiculous Thoughts is another favorite of mine, and I think it’s one of the best examples of what made O’Riordan such a compelling singer. The song starts with a sense of restraint but you can hear the frustration building as it goes along, and by the time she really lets loose there’s an intensity to the performance that feels completely earned. This is another one where the band supports her without burying her voice beneath the sound, and I especially love that on this one. They understood when to give her room, and she definitely knew what to do with it.
After that we come to Dreaming My Dreams, and this one is a track that offers a welcome change of pace. This one is a gentle and affectionate song, and I like hearing that softer side of the group after some of the heavier material. The closing stretch is excellent, too, with Daffodil Lament taking its time to develop over more than six minutes. It’s one of those songs I think benefits from being heard as part of the complete album rather than shuffled into a playlist between two completely unrelated tracks. A lot is happening musically in this one, and I enjoy the way it moves somewhat slowly through different moods as opposed to rushing through them.
The album finishes with the track the album is named after, No Need to Argue, and this one is a quiet piano-led recording that I think works beautifully as the closing track. After everything that’s come before it, the simplicity of this softer song feels appropriate as the closer. O’Riordan doesn’t need to deliver another enormous vocal performance to make the song effective, and I appreciate that the band was willing to end the record on such a subdued note. Sometimes an album can suffer because the band feels obligated to finish with something big or loud, but I think that a quieter and more subdued ending can sometimes leave a bigger impression.
What I enjoy most about No Need to Argue is that it doesn’t try to make sadness sound glamorous, nor does it go out of its way to make it depressing. Some of these songs are about feelings most of us would rather avoid, and I don’t think the album offers any convenient answers about how to deal with them. There’s a difference between accepting that something has happened and pretending that it never hurt in the first place. I think that’s part of what makes the title track so effective, because sometimes you really do reach a point where continuing an argument isn’t going to change anything. You can still be upset about what happened, but eventually you have to decide whether you want to keep carrying the argument around with you.
And I suppose that’s why the album has always reminded me of those gray afternoons. I don’t find this album to be depressing (even though there’s plenty of sadness in the music and the lyrics), but sometimes I enjoy listening to something that matches a quieter mood rather than trying to pull me out of it. I don’t always want cheerful music, and I certainly don’t need every album to leave me feeling as though I’ve just accomplished something wonderful. Some days I just want to put on a record, sit down for a bit, and enjoy the music without expecting it to do anything more than keep me company.
The Cranberries made some great music over the years, and No Need to Argue remains one of my favorite examples of what they could do when O’Riordan’s songwriting and that wonderful voice were given room to shine. It’s a lovely album to revisit, especially when the weather is a little gloomy and you have nowhere you really need to be.
Although if Thalia happens to wander into the archives while I’m listening, I may have to remind her that not every quiet afternoon requires a dance party.
What album do you find yourself returning to when you’re in the mood for something a little melancholy? I’d love to hear your favorites in the comments. And click here to browse the Melody Music archives.
