“Sometimes, it feels like it’s only been a few years ago and other times it feels like an eternity. There are lots of memories still fresh in our minds. It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since its release,” says The Cranberries drummer Fergal Lawler about the 30th anniversary of their landmark second album NO NEED TO ARGUE.

The band is celebrating the anniversary with a limited-edition deluxe set of the album that is available for pre-order today and will be released on June 27th, 2025 via Island/UMe.

Additionally, a 2LP Deluxe Edition, 2CD Deluxe Edition, 1LP, 1CD and Digital Deluxe will be available for pre-order on June 27th and released on August 15th, 2025.

Originally released on October 3rd, 1994 via Island Records, No Need To Argue serves as the commercial breakthrough for the band, led by the phenomenal and global success of its signature single “Zombie.”

Fronted by the instantly recognizable vocals of the late Dolores O’Riordan, The Cranberries had no trouble writing music for their follow-up to their worldwide multi-platinum breakthrough debut Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? “There was no ‘difficult second album syndrome’,” says Lawler. “Dolores didn’t have any problems writing on the road and in fact was bursting with ideas. Often when a song was completed it’d go straight into the live set, so audiences got to hear a lot of the No Need To Argue songs way before they were recorded. I remember playing ‘Zombie’, for instance, early in 1993 on our first European tour with Hothouse Flowers. By the time the chorus came around for the second time, you could feel the reaction in the room. People just loved it from the get-go.”

1. Ode To My Family
2. I Can’t Be With You
3. Twenty One
4. Zombie
5. Empty
6. Everything I Said
7. The Icicle Melts
8. Disappointment
9. Ridiculous Thoughts
10. Dreaming My Dreams
11. Yeat’s Grave
12. Daffodil Lament
13. No Need To Argue

I first heard the track Zombie back when we all did and purposely bought this album because of it. I’m not sure if it was the Irish accent or O’Riordan’s unique way of singing but there was something really unique about it. In truth, there is nothing even remotely similar on the rest of the album as it is all sleepy balladry-type stuff (which don’t get me wrong, The Cranberries are rather good at), but if one was expecting an album full of Zombie’s, well, they were going to be badly mistaken.

That said, I would assume that fans of their first album were likely startled by the harshness of Zombie and, perhaps, maybe even a little disappointed; but not me. Nope, not in the slightest for Zombie - which comes in fourth in line - rides the highest wave of musical brilliance here, sure, but overall the album is more than decent enough, as a whole, and thus come the final track I’m sure all fans were fully on board.

No Need To Argue is held up by the expressive, passionate, unique singing of O’Riordan which carries these dreamy jangle-pop numbers, the guys in the band more or less just accompanying her. You can definitely hear The Smiths’ influence throughout this album, in my humble opinion, in how the band approaches songwriting and sound.

When the reflective Twenty One goes into Zombie the difference in tone is remarkable. Zombie doesn’t really need an introduction, a crushing anti-war anthem that’s a well-merited 90’s classic. Both Empty and Disappointed are growers with catchy strong, powerful vocal melodies. Icicle Melts is a strange track with dreamy instrumentals that juxtaposes dire singing and lyrics about the kidnapping and killing of a child based on real events.

The band does add some energy with Ridiculous Thoughts, a more up-beat track that the album needed. The album closes relatively strong with the hauntingly-peaceful Daffodil’s Lament and the quietly-sobering No Need to Argue. Overall, I do feel this album can drag emotionally and isn’t one I got to for front to back listens, but I can see why more devoted fans would.

No Need to Argue boasted a number of singles including “Ode To My Family”, “I Can’t Be With You”, “Ridiculous Thoughts”, “Dreaming My Dreams” and, of course, “Zombie” which reached No. 1 in Australia, Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany, and topped Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and whose video counts an astounding 1.6B plays on YouTube. It was also crowned “Song of the Year” at 1995’s MTV Europe Music Awards.

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